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Careful Thinking

Martin Robb

At some point in our lives, we will all have the experience of caring for another person - or of being cared for ourselves. But what exactly is ‘care’, and what do we mean by ‘good’ care? How do our beliefs, identities, and the social, cultural and political contexts in which we live, shape our experience of caring or being cared for? And how can ideas, theories, and the findings from research, help us to think more care-fully – and to care more thoughtfully?

Careful Thinking explores these and similar questions, inspired by a belief that thinking critically about care can both deepen our understanding and improve the everyday practice of care. In each episode of the podcast, you'll hear an in-depth conversation with a researcher, writer or practitioner at the cutting edge of current thinking about care.

If you would like to give us your feedback, or suggest a guest or a topic for a future episode, you can get in touch at carefulthinkingpodcast@gmail.com. And you can leave comments on episodes and join in the discussion at https://carefulthinking.substack.com.

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  • 22 episodes
  • monthly
  • Avg 59 min
  • English

Episodes 22

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  • #14
    Sep 17, 2024 · 1 hr 11 min

    Empathy, emotions and the ethics of love - with Susi Ferrarello

    What role do emotions play in individual and societal wellbeing? How can we ensure that we are emotionally present in caregiving and in our professional lives? What is the difference between true and 'empty' empathy? And what can phenomenology, and philosophical ideas generally, contribute to the development of an ethic of love, or an ethic of care? These are some of the questions we explore in this episode, with Susi Ferrarello. Susi is an associate professor at California State University, East Bay. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from La Sapienza University in Rome, an MA in Human Rights and Political Science from the University of Bologna, and a PhD in Philosophy from the Sorbonne in Paris. Susi has held professorships at La Sapienza, the Florence University of the Arts, Lucerne University, and Loyola University in Chicago, and she has lectured widely in Europe and the United States. Susi’s areas of interest include phenomenology, moral psychology, practical ethics, the philosophical foundations of psychological praxis, and ancient philosophy. Susi is also a philosophical counsellor, with more than ten years’ experience of consulting in Italy, Switzerland and the United States. Susi's many books include The Phenomenology of Sex, Love and Intimacy, published in 2019; Human Emotions and the Origins of Bioethics and The Role of Bioethics in Emotional Problems, both from 2021; and The Ethics of Love: Emotional Dilemmas for a Relational Life, which came out in 2023. She has also edited or co-edited a number of books, including Empathy and Ethics in 2022, and The Routledge Handbook of Phenomenology of Mindfulness in 2023. The Phenomenology of Pregnancy and Early Motherhood: Ethical, Social, and Psychological Perspectives will be published in December 2024. Susi writes a regular blog, ‘Lying On The Philosopher’s Couch’, in Psychology Today magazine, and she is the host of the ‘Philosophy Gets Personal’ podcast. She recently launched No Bump, No Care?, an online pregnancy and motherhood support project. We explore the following topics in this episode: Susi's academic journey and formation (03:09) Susi's work as a philosophical counsellor (07:40) Emotions and bioethics (11:12) Emotions in professional life (17:58) Encouraging empathy in caregiving: the example of care for women who have experienced miscarriage (24:04) The gender bias in pain management (31:44) Intercorporeality and interaffectivity (36:10) Bioethics and everyday emotional problems (42:66) Ancient myths as resources for understanding contemporary relational dilemmas (46:40) Susi's reflections on personal emotional experience in her writing (50:50) Love, care and self-care (52:50) A phenomenological ethic of love (56:22) From kindness to tenderness (01:01:03) Susi's current work on pregnancy and perinatal loss (01:05:17) Links Susi's Youtube channel Susi's counselling practice Some of the thinkers and writers mentioned in the episode Aristotle Edmund Husserl Martin Heidegger Van Rensselaer Potter Lou Marinoff Tomie Hahn Nicole Miglio For a transcript of this episode, follow this link to the Careful Thinking Substack.

  • #13
    Aug 20, 2024 · 55 min

    A Muslim feminist ethic of care - with Sarah Munawar

    In what ways do medical racism and ableism shape Muslim families' experiences of healthcare services? How can Islamic spirituality and Qur'anic stories provide resources to support caregivers and receivers of care? Does care ethics need to be decolonised? And what are the implications of a Muslim feminist ethic of care for thinking about illness, disability and reproductive care? These are some of the questions we explore in this episode, with Sarah Munawar. Sarah is a political science instructor at Columbia College in Vancouver, Canada, and she was recently a visiting professor at the Elizabeth Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership at the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. Sarah earned her PhD in political science at the University of British Columbia in 2019 with a thesis entitled, ‘In Hajar’s footsteps: a de-colonial and Islamic theory of care’, which will also form the basis of a forthcoming book. Sarah describes herself as a neurodiverse Muslim, mother, and political theorist, her research articulating a vision of health equity, disability justice and care ethics that is intersectional, Islamic and de-colonial, while also centring the epistemic authority of disabled Muslims as knowers of Islam, Muslim practices of care, and care-based modes of knowing Islam. Sarah’s publications include the book chapter ‘In the Belly of the Whale: Theorizing Disability through a De-Colonial and Islamic Ethic of Care’, which was published in 2022, in the collection Care Ethics, Religion, and Spiritual Traditions; the journal article ‘The Breathwork of Ar-Rahman: An Islamic Ethic of Reproductive Care’, also from 2022; and the book chapter ‘”Be and it is!”: Muslim Cosmologies of Care, Desire, and the Reproduction of Life’, which will appear later this year. We explore the following topics in this episode: Sarah's family's experience of caring and advocating for her father during his illness (02:50) Experiencing medical ableism and racism (08:37) Critiquing some religious responses to illness and disability (13:58) Qur'anic stories providing a moral vocabulary for care (19:04) Muslim and critical disability approaches to assisted dying (23:45) Ableist and racist constructions of caregivers (26:52) The influence of Eva Kittay on Sarah's thinking and the need to decolonise care ethics (30:22) The concept of relational selfhood in Muslim, feminist and indigenous thinking (33:40) 'The breathwork of Ar-Rahman' as a source of mercy and care (37:39) Sarah's development of an Islamic, intersectional ethic of reproductive care, and its roots in her experience of giving birth during the Covid-19 pandemic (39:35) The stories of Hajar and Maryam as resources for understanding Muslim mothers' experiences (44:44) Towards a political and ecological Islamic ethic of care and the importance of place in thinking about care (46:55) Future directions for Sarah's research and writing (51:30) Some of the writers and thinkers mentioned in the episode Georg Hegel Friedrich Nietzsche Hannah Arendt John Rawls Eva Kittay Joan Tronto For a transcript of the episode, follow this link to the Careful Thinking Substack.

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