Toward a Liberatory Metaphysics of Sexuality
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Katrina Haaksma
Abstract
Recent accounts of the metaphysics of sexuality have been concerned with capturing our ordinary use of sexuality concepts. I argue that recent dispositionalist accounts of sexuality have succeeded in capturing the “folk concept” of sexuality, but that there are pressing normative reasons to adopt an additional constraint in developing the “target concept” of sexuality. I draw two normative requirements for a target concept of sexuality from recent sociological research about sex and dating. First, it should explain changes in one’s sexuality that result from a re-interpretation of desire. Second, it should address (mis)interpretations of one’s own desire that misgender people. I address these requirements by offering a metaphysics of sexuality consisting in three parts: 1) the mental states we experience as sexual desire, 2) our interpretations of those desires, and 3) the socially conferred properties of identity that come from group perception and community acceptance.
Abstract
Recent accounts of the metaphysics of sexuality have been concerned with capturing our ordinary use of sexuality concepts. I argue that recent dispositionalist accounts of sexuality have succeeded in capturing the “folk concept” of sexuality, but that there are pressing normative reasons to adopt an additional constraint in developing the “target concept” of sexuality. I draw two normative requirements for a target concept of sexuality from recent sociological research about sex and dating. First, it should explain changes in one’s sexuality that result from a re-interpretation of desire. Second, it should address (mis)interpretations of one’s own desire that misgender people. I address these requirements by offering a metaphysics of sexuality consisting in three parts: 1) the mental states we experience as sexual desire, 2) our interpretations of those desires, and 3) the socially conferred properties of identity that come from group perception and community acceptance.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction: From Social Movements to Philosophy (and Back Again) 1
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Section 1: At the Intersection Between Academia and Social Movements
- Critical Social Ontology and Social Movements 13
- Social Movements and Epistemic Injustice 35
- Feminist Research as a Response to Political and Epistemic Violences 45
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Section 2: Contemporary Approaches to the Philosophy of Social Movements
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Social Ontology and Social Movements
- Toward a Liberatory Metaphysics of Sexuality 59
- The Political Ontology of Rawls’ Model of Disobedience: Depoliticization Through Moralization 77
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Social Movements and Epistemology
- How Social Movements Bear Collective Duties 103
- How Politics Shapes the Value of Perceptual Experience: From Epistemic to Prudential Value 121
- The Standpoint of the Oppressed Must Be Conquered by the Oppressed Class Itself: Standpoint Epistemology and Epistemic Autonomy 143
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Section 3: How Specific Social Movements Inform Philosophy
- Climate Social Movements and the Politics of Leadership 169
- Viral Social Movements, State(s) of Emergency, and the Insurgent Public Realm: A Philosophical Analysis of China’s 2020 – 2022 Social Movements 187
- Anchoring Disablement: Social Definitions and Social Ontology in Britain’s Disabled People’s Movement 207
- European Health Social Movements: An Introduction 229
- List of Contributors 251
- Index 253
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction: From Social Movements to Philosophy (and Back Again) 1
-
Section 1: At the Intersection Between Academia and Social Movements
- Critical Social Ontology and Social Movements 13
- Social Movements and Epistemic Injustice 35
- Feminist Research as a Response to Political and Epistemic Violences 45
-
Section 2: Contemporary Approaches to the Philosophy of Social Movements
-
Social Ontology and Social Movements
- Toward a Liberatory Metaphysics of Sexuality 59
- The Political Ontology of Rawls’ Model of Disobedience: Depoliticization Through Moralization 77
-
Social Movements and Epistemology
- How Social Movements Bear Collective Duties 103
- How Politics Shapes the Value of Perceptual Experience: From Epistemic to Prudential Value 121
- The Standpoint of the Oppressed Must Be Conquered by the Oppressed Class Itself: Standpoint Epistemology and Epistemic Autonomy 143
-
Section 3: How Specific Social Movements Inform Philosophy
- Climate Social Movements and the Politics of Leadership 169
- Viral Social Movements, State(s) of Emergency, and the Insurgent Public Realm: A Philosophical Analysis of China’s 2020 – 2022 Social Movements 187
- Anchoring Disablement: Social Definitions and Social Ontology in Britain’s Disabled People’s Movement 207
- European Health Social Movements: An Introduction 229
- List of Contributors 251
- Index 253
