Skip to main content

Thriving, Care and Vulnerability

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Human Thriving and the Law

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Law ((BRIEFSLAW))

  • 230 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter explores the role of care and vulnerability in a thriving life. It argues that humans are by nature vulnerable beings. This nature entails many good things. It requires us to reach out to others to find co-operative solutions to the issues we face; it requires us to change and be open to new ideas and ways of thinking as we relate to other people; it ensures that relationships are at the heart of our lives; it means we do not need to (and should not) pretend that we are autonomous rational beings; and it means that care is essential to our survival and the source of much that is good about life. A thriving human life is, therefore, one marked by care and vulnerability.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Beck S (2014) ‘Brave youngsters who are losing out on their childhood as they are caring for their sick mums’ The Daily Mirror, 11 November 2014

    Google Scholar 

  • Bridgeman J (2006) Book review. Feminist Legal Stud 14:407–410

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler J (2004) Precarious life. Verso, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Carse A (2006) Vulnerability, agency and human flourishing. In: Taylor C, Dell’Oro R (eds) Health and Human Flourishing. Georgetown University Press, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Chau P-L, Herring J (2014) Interconnected, inhabited and insecure: why bodies should not be property. J Med Ethics 44:39–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Diduck A (2013) Autonomy and vulnerability in family law: The missing link. In: J. Wallbank, J. Herring (eds) Vulnerabilities, care and family law. Routledge, Abingdon

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodds S (2007) Depending on care: recognition of vulnerability and the social contribution of care provision. Bioethics 21:500

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drichel S (2013) Reframing vulnerability: ‘So Obviously the Problem. ? SubStance 42:3–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feder Kittay E (2011) Forever small: the strange case of Ashley X. Hypatia 26:610–642

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fine M, Glendinning C (2005) Dependence, independence or interdependence? Revisiting the concepts of ‘care’ and ‘dependency. Ageing Soc 21:601–631

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fineman M (2004) The autonomy myth. New Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Fineman M (2008) The vulnerable subject: anchoring equality in the human condition Yale J Law Feminism 20:1–93

    Google Scholar 

  • Fineman M (2012) ‘Elderly’ as vulnerable: Rethinking the nature of individual and societal responsibility. Elder Law J 20:71–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster C, Herring J (2015) Altruism, Welfare and the Law. Springer, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Foster C, Herring J (2017) Identity, Personhood and the Law. Springer, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gergen K (2009) Relational Being. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilson E (2013) The ethics of vulnerability: a feminist analysis of social life and practice. Routledge, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Herring J (2013) Caring and the law. Hart, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Herring J (2016) Vulnerable adults and the law. OUP, Oxford

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Herring J (2018) Childhood, vulnerability and the law. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Neal M (2012) ‘Not Gods but animals’: Human dignity and vulnerable subjecthood. Liverpool Law Rev 33:177–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HM Government (2017) Ambition interrupted. The Stationary Office, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackenzie C, Rogers W (2013) Autonomy, vulnerability and capacity: a philosophical appraisal of the Mental Capacity Act. Int J Law Context 9:37–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moorhead J (2009) ‘No time for childhood.’ Daily Mail 28 Febuary 2009

    Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum M (2001) The fragility of goodness: luck and ethics in Greek tragedy and philosophy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips A (2011) Freud’s helplessness. In: Levine G (ed) The joy of secularism. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandel M (2004) The case against perfection. The Atlantic, April 2004

    Google Scholar 

  • Schroder D, Gefenas E (2009) Vulnerability: too vague and too broad. Cambridge Quarterly Healthcare Ethics 18:113–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sevenhuijsen S (1998) Citizenship and the ethics of care. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Shakespeare T (2000) Help. Verso, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Shildrick M (2002) Embodying the monster: encounters with the vulnerable self. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Wall J (2017) Being yourself: Authentic decision-making and depression. In: Foster C, Herring J (eds) Depression: law and ethics. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 134–144

    Google Scholar 

  • West R (2002) The Right to Care. In: Feder Kittay E (ed) The subject of care: feminist perspectives on dependency. Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, pp 89–103

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charles Foster .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Foster, C., Herring, J. (2018). Thriving, Care and Vulnerability. In: Human Thriving and the Law. SpringerBriefs in Law. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01135-2_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01135-2_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-01134-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-01135-2

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics