Are women adult human females?

Philosophical Studies 177 (12):3783-3803 (2020)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Are women (simply) adult human females? Dictionaries suggest that they are. However, philosophers who have explicitly considered the question invariably answer no. This paper argues that they are wrong. The orthodox view is that the category *woman* is a social category, like the categories *widow* and *police officer*, although exactly what this social category consists in is a matter of considerable disagreement. In any event, orthodoxy has it that *woman* is definitely not a biological category, like the categories *amphibian* or *adult human female*. In the first part, a number of arguments are given for the view that women are adult human females; the second part turns to rebutting the main objections. Finally, a couple of morals are briefly noted: one for activist sloganeering, and one for ameliorative projects that seek to change the meaning of ‘woman’.

Other Versions

No versions found

Analytics

Added to PP
2019-12-04

Downloads
22,731 (#98)

6 months
1,268 (#470)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Alex Byrne
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Citations of this work

Escaping the Natural Attitude About Gender.Robin Dembroff - 2020 - Philosophical Studies 178 (3):983-1003.
Feminism without "gender identity".Anca Gheaus - 2023 - Politics, Philosophy and Economics 22 (1):1470594X2211307.

View all 27 citations / Add more citations

References found in this work

Thinking, Fast and Slow.Daniel Kahneman - 2011 - New York: New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Knowledge and its limits.Timothy Williamson - 2000 - New York: Oxford University Press.
The Philosophy of Philosophy.Timothy Williamson - 2007 - Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

View all 59 references / Add more references