Tronto and Noddings

Tronto’s Analysis on Caring
According to Joan Tronto, caring implies some kind of on-going responsibility and commitment and is necessarily relational. (Tronto, pp. 102) Tronto held that there are two types of caring: caring about and caring for. Caring for involves responding to the particular, concrete, physical spiritual, intellectual, psychic, and emotional needs of others. Caring for implies a specific, particular object that is the focus of caring. Caring about refers to less concrete objects; it is characterized by a more general form of commitment. (Tronto, pp. 103)

Tronto also implies that caring suggests an alternative moral attitude. She suggests that there are three ways in which caring for another raises questions about moral life. (pp. 105) In this essay, Tronto noted the way in which caring involves moral acts not usually comprehended in the framework of contemporary moral theory. The moral relevance of attentiveness belies the adequacy of the abstract, excha...