Feminist relational theory

Abstract

Accounts of human beings as essentially social have had a long history in philosophy as reflected in the Ancient Greeks; in African and Asian philosophy; in Modern European thinkers such as Mary Wollstonecraft, David Hume, Adam Smith, and Karl Marx; in continental philosophy; in pragmatism; in Indigenous thought, and in contemporary communitarian theories. It can be said, then, that the language of relational theory has taken a variety of forms. That relational theory is broad and captures various threads in the history of philosophy is captured in the main title of this special issue, Relational Theory. That this special issue zeroes in on the distinctive features and contributions of feminist relational theory is captured in the subtitle, Feminist Approaches, Implications, and Applications, and explained in this introduction. This special issue of Journal of Global Ethics is devoted to exploring, extending, applying, and deepening relational insights emerging from today’s feminist relational theory. In general terms, relational theory can be contrasted with Modern and especially Western liberal accounts of the human being that take the primary unit of analysis to be the individual, who is owed certain rights and freedoms to pursue a rational plan of life without undue interference from the state or others. Along with other anti-oppression theorists, feminist relational theorists have entered these debates about the ontological status of human beings by offering relational accounts of people as necessarily born into and shaped by and acting in and through relationships. By using relationships as the focal point for description and the unit of analyses for moral and political theory, these relational theorists have provided critical perspectives on accounts that have focused on either sociality as such or on individualism to describe human beings and they have teased out moral and political implications and applications. We begin this introduction with a word on how this collection came together. Encouraged by fellow co-lead editor of the journal, Eric Palmer, this special issue is a credit to the vision of one of its guest editors Christine Koggel. Koggel has been a significant force in the development of the field of feminist relational theory and has brought particular attention to its transformative significance for global ethics. Koggel brought Ami Harbin and Jennifer Llewellyn on board as guest editors to give additional content and substance to contemporary accounts of relational theory and, more specifically, to articulate what is distinctive and important about contemporary feminist relational theory. Our experience of one