What Is a Family and Why Does It Matter?

Esther Dermott and Tim Fowler
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Esther Dermott: School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1QU, UK
Tim Fowler: School for Politics, Sociology and International Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1QU, UK

Social Sciences, 2020, vol. 9, issue 5, 1-11

Abstract: The family is increasingly a site of political intervention as a locus of pervasive social inequalities and a potential resource for resolving injustices. Contemporary political theory has engaged in extensive debate about what justice in the family requires, but rather less on how family is understood: ethicists have tended to use placeholder definitions which dismiss the need to engage with real-world practices. We show that this is problematic because it obscures morally important aspects of day to day family life and risks taking privileged positions as representative. The paper proposes that theorists could gain from adopting the sociological ‘family practice’ framework, which we argue can form the basis of a distinct and plausible ethical theory of family. This can provide a fruitful basis for further research and engagement in political debate because it better conceptualizes contemporary family life. The paper therefore also illustrates how research from empirical social sciences can be helpful to the development of normative principles.

Keywords: parenting; family practices; ethics; normative; political theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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