The Social Family

Sociality and the Ethics of Supporting Families

Laura Wildemann Kane (University of Worcester, USA.)

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Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Routledge
10 November 2025

Ethics & moral philosophy; Social & political philosophy; Sociology: family & relationships; Social welfare & social services

This book argues for an inclusive definition of the family that recognizes diverse caregiving relationships and outlines distinct familial and governmental obligations based on a taxonomy of needs. In doing so, it de-emphasizes marriage, biological ties, or shared values as the basis for familial relationship in social and legal contexts.

Author Laura Kane reconceives the family as a unique social group centered on providing intimate care for the mutual flourishing of all its members, regardless of gendered or intergenerational roles or relations. Adopting a care ethics framework, Kane argues that interdependent, intimate caregiving relationships are fundamental to human experience—without such relationships, many of us would encounter difficulties meeting our needs. This account therefore prioritizes families as the starting place for thinking through moral and political obligations, and advocates for state policies that support family caregiving relationships by granting rights, privileges, and protections to groups engaged in intimate, interdependent care.

An important contribution to the philosophy of family structures and their role in society, The Social Family offers a clear and accessible account of its subject for researchers and students in philosophy, sociology, political theory, social work, family therapy, and those engaged in public policy.

Key Features:

Provides a clear definition of the family to ground family policy debates. Situates the family as a unique kind of social group through its purpose and commitment structure, contributing to debates in social ontology. Provides an account of the moral and social obligations of states to support families. Provides a more inclusive account of the family that disentangles marriage and procreation from family identity, reducing gendered role expectations within families.

By: Laura Wildemann Kane (University of Worcester USA.)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 450g
ISBN: 9781041112013
ISBN 10: 1041112017
Pages: 148
Publication Date: 10 November 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Introduction 1. Identifying Family Through Purpose 2. What We Can Expect From One Another: Examining Social Groups and Obligations 3. The Social Family and the Obligation to Care 4. An Institutional Obligation to Care 5. Relational Thinking and the Family-State Relationship.

Laura Wildemann Kane is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Worcester State University and the Academic Director of the Clemente Course in the Humanities in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Reviews for The Social Family: Sociality and the Ethics of Supporting Families

“A much needed exploration of what it is to be a family. Kane takes us beyond the unsatisfactory current conceptions to a much more useful conception with important implications for economic and family policy. This book should be of interest to practitioners and policy makers, as well as to scholars, students, and the general public.” -- ‎Virginia Held is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the City University of New York Graduate School, and past president of the American Philosophical Association (Eastern Division).