As a religious thinker who disclaimed all rationalistic systems, Martin Buber produced an insightful critique of modern philosophical ethics, one that became productive soil for another non-traditional ethic: feminism's care ethic. Walters compares the personal ethics of the two perspectives.

James W. Walters is a professor of religion at Loma Linda University. In 1990 he organized the Ethics and Aging Project in Southern California, a public discussion of the ethical challenges facing society as the population of the elderly grows. He also serves as a member of the ethics committee at the Loma Linda University Medical Center.