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.