Politics of the Ordinary

What is an ethics formulated in a “different voice” ? This bookdevelops the connection between ordinary language philosophy,represented by Wittgenstein and Austin, and the ethics of care. Careis at once a practical response to specific needs and a sensitivity tothe ordinary details of human life that matter. The Ordinary has beenvariously denied, undervalued, or neglected – not taken into account –in theoretical thought. Such negligence, I propose, has to do withwidespread contempt for ordinary life inasmuch as it is domestic andfemale. The disdain stems from the gendered hierarchy of objects deemedworthy of intellectual research. One important aspect of ordinarylanguage philosophy is its capacity to call our attention to humanexpressiveness as embodied in women’s voices. It thus provides the basisfor a re-definition of philosophyas attention to ordinary life, and carefor moral expression. This book proposes nothing less than a paradigmshift in ethics, with a reorientation towards vulnerability and a shiftfrom the “just” to the “important.”

What is an ethics formulated in a "different voice" ? This book develops the connection between ordinary language philosophy, represented by Wittgenstein and Austin, and the ethics of care. Care is at once a practical response to specific needs and a sensitivity to the ordinary details of human life that matter. The Ordinary has been variously denied, undervalued, or neglected - not taken into account - in theoretical thought. Such negligence, I propose, has to do with widespread contempt for ordinary life inasmuch as it is domestic and female. The disdain stems from the gendered hierarchy of objects deemed worthy of intellectual research. One important aspect of ordinary language philosophy is its capacity to call our attention to human expressiveness as embodied in women's voices. It thus provides the basis for a re-definition of philosophyas attention to ordinary life, and care for moral expression. This book proposes nothing less than a paradigm shift in ethics, with a reorientation towards vulnerability and a shift from the "just" to the "important."

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