Self-Sacrifice in Care: a "Responsive" Perspective

This book engages a debate on the ethics of care that evolves around the
phenomenon of goodness without acknowledgment. Central to this
investigation are care relations from a position that critically
revaluates the intricate issues for the ethics of care: altruism and
self-sacrifice, selflessness of care and lack of recognition. The
inquiry opens a new perspective on self-sacrifice by drawing on the
responsive phenomenology of Bernhard Waldenfels. Interpreting his
description of the relationship between self and Other and the
experience of otherness changes our view of the ways in which we are
connected with each other and of the reasons why we respect and care for
each other to a point at which the self is at risk. This new approach is
well-placed to strengthen both the ideal and the recognition of
self-less care. By bringing together intense debates in care ethics and
responsive phenomenology, Susanne Pohlmann profoundly enriches the
ethics of care and its related discussions.