Edited by D F Cates and P Lauritzen. Georgetown University Press, 2001, £55.00 (hb), £40.75 (pb), pp 323. 0-87840-824-X

This is a collection of essays that aims to “clarify and extend” the influence of feminist thinking and in particular the potential contribution of an ethic of care to medical practice. The essays are informed by a feminist perspective: however, the contributors are drawn from the fields of theology, philosophy, ethics, and psychology; rather than from schools of feminism, and the discussion certainly ranges beyond feminist preoccupations. Including a practising physician’s reflection on the ethics of care might have provided a useful perspective, although chapter 2 does offer an insight into a nursing perspective.

The introductory chapter would be excellent for a person who has read little on care ethics, and it is written with clarity and precision. The ground of care ethics is covered; Cates locates this ethic in relation to traditional and contemporary ethics, pointing out salient elements. …