Philosophy & What Matters. Ep. 8: Social construction & social critique with Sally Haslanger (MIT)
Channel: Jeremiah Joven Joaquin
Date: 2020-08-31

"Philosophy & What Matters" deals with questions that matter to us from a philosophical point of view. 

We have different ways of categorising things. We categorise non-living things in terms of their type, or in terms of their shape, size, and colour, and so on. On the other hand, we categorise living things in terms of their biological families. We have general categories of microbes, plants, insects, and animals, and we have specific species under these categories as well. Some philosophers think that these categories are natural and objective features of reality. But what of us? How should we categorise ourselves? 

Of course, we belong to the biological category of homo sapiens, but we also have a gender, we belong to a certain class and race. Some philosophers have labelled these as socially constructed categories. But what kind of thing is a social category? And why does thinking about these things matter? 

My co-host for this episode is Hazel T. Biana and our guide through the conundrum is Sally Haslanger, Ford Professor of Philosophy and Women’s & Gender Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The "Philosophy & What Matters" website can be found here: https://sites.google.com/site/jeremiahjovenjoaquin/philosophy-what-matters.