The Nature of the Sexes | Tomás Bogardus (with Stephen Kershnar)

Описание: Tomás Bogardus joins to discuss his book "The Nature of the Sexes" and argues for a reproductive-functional account of biological sex. According to Bogardus, males and females are defined by the reproductive function their bodies are structured to perform: producing sperm or eggs. Even when that function is not realized and no sperm or eggs are produced, a person’s sex remains the same, because it is grounded in biological organization. To defend this view, Bogardus considers intersex and DSD cases, critiques contextualist accounts that treat sex as domain-dependent, and argues for a unified meaning of “male” and “female.” The conversation later turns to whether sex is essential or changeable, as well as debates about pronouns, sports, and medical interventions for minors.

00:00 Introduction to the Debate on Sex
00:23 The Delivery Room Thought Experiment: "It’s a Boy/Girl"
02:04 Sex as Reproductive Function
07:41 Gametes, Competitor Theories, and the Non-Producers Objection
11:29 Intersex & DSD Cases
19:23 Contextualism and Cluster Concepts: Sex in Sports, Bathrooms, Dating?
26:23 Conjunction Reduction & Animal Examples: Rooster vs Crocodile
30:24 One Unified Meaning of Sex Terms
32:06 Are ‘Man’ and ‘Woman’ Social Roles or Biological Sexes?
37:15 Is Sex Essential or Contingent? Souls, Brains, and Hylomorphism
42:23 Surgery and Embryo Gene Editing
47:15 Fairness in Sports/Prisons
54:38 Should Gender-Affirming Medical Care for Minors Be Criminalized?
01:04:09 Conclusion

Read "The Nature of the Sexes: Why Biology Matters": https://www.routledge.com/The-Nature-...

Subscribe to the Brain in a Vat Substack: https://braininavat.substack.com/

Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff
Editor and Producer: Ella Coleman

Brain in a Vat bookshop (Shopify): https://smarturl.it/BrainShop
Brain in a Vat bookshop (Amazon): https://smarturl.it/BrainAmazonShop

Podcast: https://anchor.fm/braininavat
Contact us: Mark.Oppenheimer[at]gmail and Jwerbe[at]gmail