Personal Identity, Sexual Difference, and the Metaphysics of Gender

Abstract Issues pertaining to sex and gender continue to be some of the most hotly debated topics of our time. While many of the most heated disputes occur at the level of politics and public policy, metaphysics, too, has a crucial role to play in these debates. In this essay, I explore several key...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inChristian bioethics Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 77 - 94
Main Author Skrzypek, Jeremy W
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published US Oxford University Press 04.04.2023
Subjects
gender
metaphysics
personal identity
essence
transgender
sex
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Summary:Abstract Issues pertaining to sex and gender continue to be some of the most hotly debated topics of our time. While many of the most heated disputes occur at the level of politics and public policy, metaphysics, too, has a crucial role to play in these debates. In this essay, I explore several key metaphysical debates concerning sex and gender through the lenses of two important areas in contemporary metaphysics: the metaphysics of essence and the ontology of the human person. The goal here is not to advocate any particular position on these issues, but to show how the tools of contemporary metaphysics can help to offer a more comprehensive map of the conceptual terrain, indicating where major areas of agreement can be found and where the most important disagreements really lie.
ISSN:1380-3603
1744-4195
DOI:10.1093/cb/cbad002