Eco-logica del curarsi. Dalla ragione del padrone all’etica della relazione

The premise of this thesis is that philosophical and moral reflection can, through the development of interpretative paradigms of environmental ethics, offer a significant contribution to the foundation of what has been termed a “sustainability principle.” This principle should provide the cognitive and interpretative tools necessary for a conscious understanding of the ecological issue. Moreover, this principle ought to propose a praxis suited to the challenges of our time, which have become an inextricable knot encompassing ecological, political, economic, and social demands. This principle is here defined as an “eco-logic of care.” For such a contribution to emerge from philosophical reflection, it is first necessary to clarify the conception of “philosophy” that one intends to rely on: a philosophy grounded in everyday life, capable of engaging with and drawing from various bodies of knowledge and approaches while maintaining its specificity and rigor. It is a moral philosophy – and at times political – that aims to investigate the underlying system of concepts and values upon which we have built our societies and our very idea of humanity (and non-humanity), highlighting their flaws where they begin to manifest in ways not immediately perceptible. To support this inquiry, the focus is placed on two paradigmatic cases according to the thesis: the relationship between humans and other living beings with whom we share the ecosystem – in particular, the moral consideration of non-human animals offers significant insights into our way of conceiving both the external and internal nature of ourselves (Midgley, 1978; 1983) – and the peculiar position held in societies by a certain human category whose needs our underlying structure seems unwilling or unable to fully address, instead relegating it to the widely undervalued task of caregiving, with the resulting ambivalent moral judgment and reduced political agency. This category is the female component of humanity. Analyzing the condition of women – while acknowledging and aiming to avoid or clarify simplifications – is essential, given that care, a concept now widely revisited and debated (Pulcini, 2009), has traditionally and problematically been associated with innate feminine virtues. As a result, women and feminized subjectivities continue to face exclusion and exploitation. Simultaneously, they are increasingly engaging with the possibility of reclaiming the value of this approach, especially considering urgent ecological concerns (d’Eaubonne, 1974). Through the analysis and interweaving of the thoughts of authors such as Mary Midgley, Françoise d’Eaubonne, Val Plumwood, and Elena Pulcini, this study seeks to gather and interpret key concerns of ecological ethics and politics through an ecofeminist lens. This approach deliberately maintains an intersectional perspective that recognizes the continuity among the various forms and levels of oppression in our societies: women, all kinds of minorities, the poor and marginalized, Indigenous peoples, and the more-than-human world are not interchangeable, nor is it possible (as Marxism believed, for example) to establish a hierarchy among liberation struggles. However, it is essential to recognize the unique structure of oppression enacted by the “master model” (Plumwood, 1994). The nature/culture value dualism that has shaped the progression of Western thought – along with its derivatives (mind/body; reason/emotion; human/animal; male/female...) – is the master’s reason, the one that denies all relationality, continuity, or interest in what is considered other. Finally, the thesis analyzes and attempts a redefinition of care, taking into account feminist contributions but also employing a critical and decolonial lens, arguing for the necessity of understanding care in its dual transitive and reflexive value: to care is also to care for oneself. From a strictly philosophical perspective, this kind of care undoubtedly belongs to the ethical dimension – and, specifically, to an ethics that must be “eco-logical.” Through a process composed of successive awakenings and the redefinition of categories traditionally considered immutable and non-negotiable, such as that of “reason,” the authors studied here contribute to the emergence of the eco-logic of caring.