Abstract

This essay analyses three meanings of asymmetry on which talk of asymmetry in German-language care discourse is based: as irreversibility [Unumkehrbarkeit], as imbalance [Ungleichgewichtigkeit] and as one-sidedness [Einseitigkeit]. One result of this analysis is that it currently seems doubtful whether asymmetry can serve as a central concept for care theories. Following this, two questions will be discussed. In systematical terms: how could this doubt possibly be resolved? In discourse-analytical terms: What are the functions of asymmetry in care discourse?