Levinas' Ethics of Caring: Implications and Limits in Nursing

Nursing scholars consider caring a key concept in understanding what is involved in nursing and believe that it is a major issue in nursing ethics. In this paper, the moral characteristics required for nursing care are described and these characteristics are discussed on the basis of taking responsibility for the Other, as described in Levinas' ethics. First of all, the altruistic aspect of care in terms of Levinas' ethics is examined. That is, a nurse should meet the needs of a person who is suffering, respond to them morally, and take responsibility. Levinas puts an emphasis on passive sensibilities that lead a nurse to respond to the needs of someone who is suffering, and also on the moral responsibility that encourages a nurse to empathize with others. However, his ethics cannot explain clearly how a nurse, as a moral subject with autonomy, forms a caring relationship with others.