Event #1

We live in a neoliberal era, driven by market logic, where actions are based on the potential rewards. Aristotle, in his Rhetoric, states that the logic of calculation is the opposite of the logic of ethics. We have an absolute need for ethics, but when market logic dominates, ethics weakens. However, the logic at the root of life is different – it is the logic of care. As fragile and incomplete beings, we are called to care for life with the utmost attention. Without care – care of thinking, feeling, and acting – life cannot be preserved, cannot flourish, cannot be repaired. Acting with care means adopting the human desire to seek what makes life good as a guiding principle. Acting with care means responding to the need of doing good, acting ethically, that is, doing something because it feels like the right thing to do. Our era is marked by a high degree of neglect and violence. Nonetheless, our society persists because some people know how to act according to the ethics of care. If we examine reality, we can see many people (healthcare workers, teachers, social workers, employees, public institution administrators) acting according to the ethics of care. When acting according to the ethics of care, without calculation, one may experience an ethical pleasure: it is the joy of knowing that we are doing what is necessary. The word "joy" in Greek is expressed by the term charis, which also means "gratitude."