An ethic of care arose out of the attempt to develop an ethical theory that recognizes women's moral experiences. The theory originated with Carol Gilligan's work on a woman's voice in ethics, and Nel Noddings's discussion of caring. Such an ethic rejects both Kantian principle-based ethics and utilitarian forms of consequential ism; some philosophers like to classify care ethics as a form of virtue ethics. However, many care ethicists don't want to be virtue ethicists, because the ethic of care (as Nel Noddings have developed it) is fundamental relational; it concerns with caring relations, whereas the virtue ethics focuses on the character of individuals. But caring is no doubt a virtue, there are some similarities between the ethics of care and virtue theory. Among the virtues Aristotle discusses only friendship is characterized as willing the good of the other, and to consist more in loving than in being loved. Such a relationship in incorporation of caring and virtue would be of benefit to both the ethics of care and virtue ethics.
