Feminist relational theory

Abstract

Accounts of human beings as essentially social have had a long history in philosophy as reflected in the Ancient Greeks; in African and Asian philosophy; in Modern European thinkers such as Mary Wollstonecraft, David Hume, Adam Smith, and Karl Marx; in continental philosophy; in pragmatism; in Indigenous thought, and in contemporary communitarian theories. It can be said, then, that the language of relational theory has taken a variety of forms. That relational theory is broad and captures various threads in the history of philosophy is captured in the main title of this special issue, Relational Theory. That this special issue zeroes in on the distinctive features and contributions of feminist relational theory is captured in the subtitle, Feminist Approaches, Implications, and Applications, and explained in this introduction. This special issue of Journal of Global Ethics is devoted to exploring, extending, applying, and deepening relational insights emerging from today’s feminist relational theory.