The Foundations of Flourishing and Our Responsibility to Infants : : An Ethical and Evidence-Based Case to Challenge the Societal Acceptance of Childcare.

• Author: Joiner, Gillian.
• Place / Publishing House: Bradford : : Ethics International Press Limited,, 2022.; Ã2022.
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (228 pages)

Neuroscientific evidence reveals that childcare centres are high stress environments which can disrupt the brain's emotional developmental circuitry during critical phases, impacting a child's later ability to flourish. At the same time evidence also reveals that some parenting practices are sub-optimal. Exploring what it is infants really need to grow emotionally well, represents a largely unexplored issue. If the state wants to be populated by flourishing individuals, then this topic must be addressed. Using an ethical framework to tease out the wide ranging, complex, and sometimes controversial issues that this dilemma presents, The Foundations of Flourishing and Our Responsibility to Infants follows a cross-disciplinary journey. The author pieces together pertinent issues in a synthesised critique of political, feminist, and moral philosophy, as well as psychological and neuroscientific findings, and offers some possible solutions. It will be of interest to researchers and teachers in areas including philosophy, psychology, education, social care, as well as educators and policy-makers in early childhood development.

Table of Contents

Intro -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 The Evidence -- Attachment Theory -- Neuroscientific Evidence -- Chapter 2 Childcare, and Mothers and Fathers -- Childcare -- Mothers and Fathers -- Chapter 3 Obligations to Children and Ourselves -- Obligations to Children -- Autonomy -- Chapter 4 Love -- What Love Confers -- Duty to Love -- The Components of Love -- Expansiveness of Love -- Chapter 5 Flourishing -- Flourishing -- Attributes of Flourishers -- Chapter 6 Liberalism -- The Liberal State and its Role Regarding Children -- Public and Private Spheres -- Nozick's Liberalism -- Kant -- Mill -- Capitalism -- Chapter 7 Feminism and Motherhood -- Feminism -- Difference Feminism -- Motherhood -- Background -- Motherhood Today -- Chapter 8 An Ethics of Social, Emotional, and Moral Wellbeing -- Ethics of Care -- Slote's Ethics of Care and Empathy -- Gilligan's Reframing of the Ethics of Care -- An Alternative Autonomy -- The Ethics of Social, Emotional, and Moral Wellbeing -- Families -- Chapter 9 Policy Issues -- The State -- Practical Problems -- Career -- Remuneration -- Superannuation -- Education -- Lack of Status and Respect -- Developing Solutions Through Policy -- Career -- Remuneration -- Family -- Value of Motherhood -- Superannuation -- Education -- Supporting Families -- Communities -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.