Permalink :  http://hdl.handle.net/2115/86532

JaLCDOI :  10.14943/bfhhs.167.l31

KEYWORDS : 脆弱性; ケアの倫理; 互酬性; 精神障がい者; グラウンデッド・ セオリー・アプローチ; Vulnerability; Ethics of care; People with mental illness; Grounded theory approach

How can people with relatively major physical and/or mental vulnerabilities, for whom it is difficult to accomplish tasks at home or in the labor market, be recognized as necessary members of society? This paper references and complements Eva F. Kittayʼs “ethics of care” in an attempt to answer this question. To achieve its aim, it analyzes qualitative data from interviews and examines field notes on French professional care workers of people with severe mental illnesses. The ethics of care considers physical and mental vulnerabilities as sources of social dependence and regards those who remain vulnerable as people who are unable to give back anything to others. Therefore, dependent individuals who are too incapacitated to work are positioned as one-sided recipients of care and are deemed to be persons that cannot engage as subjects with the solidarity of the reciprocity of care. Given the above conceptual context, this paper uses grounded theory approach to describe care practices and empirically examine whether dependent individuals can and do recompense their professional care workers. The author conducted interviews with French professional care workers for people with severe mental illness who find it difficult to work and have become bereft of varied social relationships. Participant observations were also performed. The study concluded that in return for their care, the professional care workers received a philosophy labeled for this paper as humanité from their people with mental illness. This payback enabled a reflective rethinking of societal norms and systems: in receiving humanité, professional care workers can question the social exclusion of people with mental illness. They can also recognize the overall integration of society necessitates the participation of people with vulnerabilities vis-à-vis social solidarity. This outcome suggests that those who remain dependent can potentially be recognized as necessary members of society through their capacity to recompense society with humanité. In this manner, this study contributes by reforming the reciprocity of care.

FULL TEXT :  PDF