Conservative cultural commentator Ben Shapiro makes quick work of the "gender question:" "Science is certainly not divided on whether gender differences are rooted in biology or culture - the answer is both, but with a heavy emphasis on biology." (The Left's Doomed Crusade To Erase Gender Differences', National Review, 2018) Meanwhile, the feminist philosopher Judith Butler has made a now-classic statement of the other side of the argument:
"Gender is the repeated stylization of the body, a set of repeated acts within a highly rigid regulatory frame that congeal over time to produce the appearance of a substance, of a natural sort of being. A political genealogy of gender ontologies, if it is successful, will deconstruct the substantive appearance of gender into its constitutive acts and locate and account for those acts within the compulsory frames set by the various forces that police the social appearance of gender..." (Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, p.33, 1990)
In other words, to Butler and others, gender is more of social construction than it is a biological fact. The 'gender question', then, this aspect of the so-called culture wars, is a matter of opposing views about the relative responsibility of society and biology for gendered behavior. The first view says that biological sex largely defines gender, the other that society or culture largely defines it. I will call this opposing pair of views the twin views.
Bu hikaye Philosophy Now dergisinin June / July 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Philosophy Now dergisinin June / July 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Anselm (1033-1109)
Martin Jenkins recalls the being of the creator of the ontological argument.
Is Brillo Box an Illustration?
Thomas E. Wartenberg uses Warhol's work to illustrate his theory of illustration.
Why is Freedom So Important To Us?
John Shand explains why free will is basic to humanity.
The Funnel of Righteousness
Peter Worley tells us how to be right, righter, rightest.
We're as Smart as the Universe Gets
James Miles argues, among other things, that E.T. will be like Kim Kardashian, and that the real threat of advanced AI has been misunderstood.
Managing the Mind
Roger Haines contemplates how we consciously manage our minds.
lain McGilchrist's Naturalized Metaphysics
Rogério Severo looks at the brain to see the world anew.
Love & Metaphysics
Peter Graarup Westergaard explains why love is never just physical, with the aid of Donald Davidson's anomalous monism.
Mary Leaves Her Room
Nigel Hems asks, does Mary see colours differently outside her room?
From Birds To Brains
Jonathan Moens considers whether emergence can explain minds from brains.