
76 | CHAPTER 5 Ethical Applications of Informatics
one hand to analytic precision and careful reasoning on the other” (p. 12). Care
ethicists are less guided by rules and focus on the needs of others and one’s respon-
sibility to meet those needs. The central focus is responsiveness to the needs of oth-
ers that dictates providing care, preventing harm, and maintaining relationships.
As opposed to the aforementioned theories that focused on the individual’s rights,
an ethic of care emphasizes a personal part of an interdependent relationship that
affects how decisions are made. In this theory, the specific situation and context in
which the person is ...