Sex, Values, and Human Nature Philosophy 202 May 11

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Sex, Values, and Human NaturePhilosophy 202May
11

• Announcements
• Reading
• Wright, The Moral Animal Chapter 2, Male and
  Female
• Wright, The Moral Animal Chapter 3, Men and Women
  
• Cowely, The Biology of Beauty (web page)
• Download notes from webpage before class.

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Human Nature

• The set of fundamental characteristics that make
  those that possess them human rather than
  something else.
• The set of characteristics that define certain
  beings as human beings.
• Genotype and Phenotype
• Not all human traits are uniquely human
• Sex, Gender and Sexuality

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Understanding Human Nature

• Theory 1 Biological Determinist (Interactionist)
  conception of sex, gender, and sexuality.
• Theory 2 Social Constructionist conception of
  sex, gender, and sexuality.
• Which theory does a better job making sense of
  both the common and the rare cases?
• sex - intersexuality
• gender - transgender people
• sexuality - homosexuality
• What role do normative considerations have in
  understanding the concepts of Sex, Gender and
  Sexuality?

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Sex

• Sex Kinds of organisms (e.g. Humans)
  differentiated by reproductive capacity.
• Female Egg Producers,
• Male Sperm Providers
• Sex Markers ?

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Gender

• Classification of organisms in terms of
  sex-typical psychological features
  (i.e.behaviors, dispositions to behaviors,
  attitudes, and desires).
• In Modern North America we have two sexes and two
  genders
• Female and Male
• Feminine and Masculine
• Gender Markers ?

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Sex and Gender Markers
Categories of understanding Ideas Abstract
Gender
Sex
Gender Markers
Sex Markers
Long Hair Likes contact sports Nurturing Empatheti
c Rational
Penis Ovaries XX XY
Observable traits/behaviors Concrete
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Sexuality

• Subset of gender that includes sexual behaviors,
  dispositions to sexual behaviors, sexual
  attitudes, and sexual desires.
• Which of our behaviors, attitudes, and desires
  are the sexual ones?

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Sexuality

• Subset of gender that includes sexual behaviors,
  dispositions to sexual behaviors, sexual
  attitudes, and sexual desires.
• So Sexual means..

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Sex and Gender Markers
Gender
Categories of understanding Ideas Abstract
Sex
Sexuality
Gender Markers
Sex Markers
Long Hair Likes contact sports Nurturing Empatheti
c Rational
Penis Ovaries XX XY
Observable traits/behaviors Concrete
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Sex and Gender Markers
Biology (natural categories) Culture (cultural
categories)
?
?
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Discussion

• What are the differences between masculine (i.e.
  male-typical) sexuality and feminine (i.e.
  female-typical) sexuality ?
• Do you think sexuality varies with culture? Or
  historical period?
• Are there any universal aspects of sexuality?

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Making Generalizations

• For example Men are more are more interested in
  casual sex than women.

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Men are more are more interested in casual sex
than women.
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Men are more are more interested in casual sex
than women.
Average partners for males 5 Average
partners for females 3
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Bell Curves