Vom Recht auf Maske. Zur Bedeutung der Grenzen der Gemeinschaft für die zeitgenössische Care-Ethik

Abstract

The right to wear a mask. Limits of Community and its relevance for contemporary Ethics of Care. The article examines Helmuth Plessner’s defence of a “right to wear a mask” in his work Limits of Community and its relevance for contemporary Ethics of Care. Against ideals of authenticity and immediacy, Plessner argues that distance, reserve, and social masking are necessary to protect the integrity of the individual. The social ethos he proposes is grounded not in abstract moral principles, but in a personal attitude toward others. In this attitude of tact, reserve, kindness, and lightness, Plessner’s social ethics anticipates central concerns of the Ethics of Care. The article therefore discusses Plessner’s anthropological revision of ethics, the basic approach of the Ethics of Care, and Plessner’s significance for this new ethical tradition – a tradition that is not only of theoretical importance but is also of considerable practical relevance today, particularly in the development of an independent ethical approach to the care of sick and dependent individuals.