Free Will: Understanding Womanhood |

Kerry Howley & Sally Haslanger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUVyWwbopTI

Sally Haslanger is professor of philosophy at MIT.

Kerry Howley is a feature writer at New York Magazine and professor at the University of
Iowa's Nonfiction Writing Program. 
Minute 11-16.

Sally Haslanger:
- Gender is …………. construct, in particular ……………..
- Who is the subject that feminists are concerned to liberate?
[Can you reformulate Haslanger’s argument for why being a man or woman is not a biological
category?]
- gender is very …………………, in different times, places, cultures, etc.
- It seems that there is nothing that …………………….., as a group that feminism can
fight for.
- But there is a group of women across different times, places, and cultures, etc. and these
are those whose bodies are interpreted ……………………….. and they are
disadvantaged because of that.
- These are women, the group that feminism …………………….

- How do we fight? What is the goal of this fight?

- The project of feminism is to bring about a day when there are ……………………….
- Being a man or woman is connected to a …………….hierarchy.
- And the social hierarchy is not ……………..
- We want to do away with the social hierarchy
- If we do so, then …………….

Kerry Howley:
- As a libertarian, the idea that your anatomy determines your assignation to a group that you are
no choosing is clearly freedom constraining it prevents self-authorship in a really important way.
What is the idea of self-authorship?
[WEB……………………………………………………………………………………………..]
What is to be a libertarian?
[Research Practice: Using Glossary

……………………………………………………..………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Reading Test: Read pp. 607-8

What is Kane’s response to Strawson’s argument?, Recall
(1) You do what you do because of the way you are.
(2) To be truly morally responsible for what you do, you must be truly responsible for the way
you are—at least in certain crucial mental respects.
(3) You can’t be truly responsible for the way you are, so you can’t be truly responsible for what
you do.
Why can’t you be truly responsible for the way you are? Because
(4) To be truly responsible for the way you are, you must have intentionally brought it about that
you are the way you are, and this is impossible.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[Can you think of a reason that can support Kane’s position?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What would be a possible reply on behalf of Strawson?]
………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Kerry Howley:
- What does this (no women no men) world look like? Is it blind to anatomical/gonadal/genetic
facts?
Sally Haslanger:
- We have to be sensitive to the disadvantages that women have suffered and the advantages that
men benefitted from.
- There would be more blindness than we have now
- In any just society human beings reproduce sexually so we do not want to have test tube babies
- --- We need to have some recognition of reproductive difference
- Pregnancy is …………………………………………………… it puts physical constraint on
the body in a way that ejaculation does not
- A just society must …………………………………….