Reason vs Emotion – In Search of an Alternative Moral Framework

Abstract

In every part of this world, there is gender discrimination between men and women. Society thinks that gender discrimination is wired into biology and expects some ideal qualities from men and women. In this way, men and women are situated in different societal positions. For this very reason, gender discrimination is considered as created by society. According to feminists, gender discrimination is expressed in society mainly in three ways. Firstly, in daily life, secondly, in patriarchy, and finally, in the theoretical sphere, known as androcentrism. Mainstream ethics is based on rationality, neutrality, impartiality, objectivity, and universality, but feminists note that there is hidden gender politics in making a neutral perspective of mainstream ethics. In mainstream theory, all the gendered characteristics of men become the ideal qualities of humans in disguise of neutrality, while all the attributes of women remain absent. According to feminist thinkers, mature moral thought looks at the complexities within the various dimensions of human feelings, emotions, and experiences, making the question of emotions a central concept to moral education. Such ethics developed by feminists are called care ethics. Finally, some feminists assert that although care- and justice-based mainstream ethics provide different frameworks for morality, neither is complete without the other. Therefore, if there is a harmonious coexistence between the two, it will probably represent an ethics with maturity.