Abstract

This chapter analyzes the contemporary ethical position most close to that of Costello, feminist ecocriticism, which deploys in animal ethics the so-called ethics of care. The chapter problematizes Coetzee’s “performing” of a female voice but also finds many correspondences between Costello’s position and contemporary ecofeminists working in animal ethics. It also presents the criticisms these theories have attracted, since they are very similar to, and at the same time help contextualize, those moved against Costello, and assesses them in light of the analyses of the previous two chapters. Particular attention is devoted to two scholars who have centered their theories on empathy and sympathy, Lori Gruen and Josephine Donovan.