Authors:Camilla Pitton Abstract: The attempt to rearticulate traditional conceptions of nature can be both a useful strategy and a stumbling block when it comes to feminist examinations of the continuity between the objectification of women’s bodies and the domination of nature. This paper contributes to existing debates by providing a critique of what I term the “duality view” of nature: a view stipulating that nature is primarily characterised by a stable sexual duality, and advancing that the objectification of women’s bodies arises because the specificity of “femaleness” is ignored and duality is therefore neglected. I focus, specifically, on Alison Stone’s interpretation of Luce Irigaray, insofar as the account emerging from Stone’s interpretation clearly outlines the principles that most versions of the duality view should endorse. I problematise this account by showing that it becomes inconsistent with the critique of objectification which grounds it in the first place. I conclude by advancing that, overall, a view insisting on a natural sexual duality because of normative reasons conflicts with the feminist considerations at its basis. I also suggest that while the present analysis is primarily condemnatory, it can contribute to the development of feminist philosophies of nature by fleshing out avoidable pitfalls. PubDate: 2023-12-06 Issue No:Vol. 9, No. 4 (2023)
Authors:Marie-Pier Lemay Abstract: Reshaping our methodological research tools for adequately capturing injustice and domination has been a central aspiration of feminist philosophy and social epistemology in recent years. There has been an increasingly empirical turn in recent feminist and political theorization, engaging with case studies and the challenges arising from conducting research in solidarity with unequal partners. I argue that these challenges cannot be resolved by merely adopting a norm and stance of deference to those in the struggle for justice. To conduct philosophical research in an engaged and solidaristic manner, I suggest that deference be supplemented by three methodological and normative principles: (1) epistemic humility, (2) accountability, and (3) coproducing knowledge. I situate these principles within contemporary philosophical work on solidarity and show how they might help confront power imbalances and other methodological hazards that arise when conducting research in solidarity with others. I arrive at these principles in part by critically reflecting on my own attempt to conduct research in solidarity with women’s rights activists in Senegal. PubDate: 2023-12-06 Issue No:Vol. 9, No. 4 (2023)
Authors:Caroline King Abstract: This article examines the possibilities and limits of Paul Preciado’s book Testo yonqui (Testo Junkie) to inspire gender becomings. A genre-fluid “body-essay,” Preciado’s text follows his self-administration of testosterone in what he terms the pharmacopornographic era, a modern iteration of Foucault’s biocapitalism. After designating Preciado’s self-generated transformations as becomings, I explore how the book’s heterotopic spaces—including its genre—facilitate Preciado’s quest for a gender identity that cannot be labeled. A Foucauldian term, “heterotopia” has not yet been applied to Testo yonqui or other transgender texts, and it provides a productive template for the complex interplay of individuals and society. While I critique the vulnerability of heterotopias, and, by proxy, of Testo yonqui, to harmful power dynamics, I ultimately uphold Testo yonqui’s ability to destabilize rigid narratives of identity. PubDate: 2023-12-06 Issue No:Vol. 9, No. 4 (2023)
Authors:Tyra Lennie Abstract: In this article, I argue that existing literature discounts the role of self-improvement in Astellian friendship. To make this element central, I show how an Epicurean analysis of Astellian friendship brings self-improvement clearly into focus. On the way to centering self-improvement, I show how extant accounts imply self-improvement without explicitly setting up the architecture to explain this element of Astellian friendship. Self-improvement is centralized by way of three shared themes between the Epicurean Garden and the Astellian religious retirement: the motivation to enter, the project inside, and the manner of friendship. PubDate: 2023-12-06 Issue No:Vol. 9, No. 4 (2023)
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