The Extent of "Caring Others" in the Ethics of Care

In today's world, where issues such as poverty, climate change, war, etc. have become transnational crises, moral theorists are striving to find a way to end or reduce the devastating consequences of these crises. Meanwhile, the ethics of care believes that traditional theories—due to their rationalist principles— cannot provide an effective solution, and perhaps it is the ethics of care that can be effective in this regard according to its principles. However, this theory has always been accused of being inattentive to the public sphere due to its focus on motherhood patterns; this is because, contrary to traditional ethical approaches, it focuses more on the private sphere and the relationship of individuals with their particular others. Therefore, this article makes an attempt to clarify the scope of caring others in the ethics of care and answer the question of whether the ethics of care is really indifferent to the public sphere, or more specifically, to global crises. Accordingly, delving into the theories of philosophers in this field, it is concluded that although the focus of care ethics is more on the private sphere, it is not confined to this field. So much so that some care philosophers have specifically theorized on care in the political arena.