Philosophical Inquiries into Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Mothering ― Maternal Subjects

Philosophical inquiry into pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering is a growing area of interest to academic philosophers. This volume brings together a diverse group of philosophers to speak about topics in this reemerging area of philosophical inquiry, taking up new themes, such as maternal aesthetics, and pursuing old ones in new ways, such as investigating stepmothering as it might inform and ground an ethics of care. The theoretical foci of the book include feminist, existential, ethical, aesthetic, phenomenological, social and political theories. These perspectives are then employed to consider many dimensions of pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering, which are of central importance to human existence, but are only rarely discussed in philosophical cannons. Topics include pregnancy and embodiment, breast-feeding, representations – or the lack thereof – of pregnant and birthing women, adoption, and post-partum motherhood.

Sheila Lintott is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bucknell University with research interests in feminist philosophy, philosophical aesthetics, and environmental philosophy. Her work appears in journals such asHypatia, Environmental Ethics, and The British Journal of Aesthetics. She also editedMotherhood: Philosophy for Everyone—The Birth of Wisdom (Blackwell).

Maureen Sander-Staudt is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Arizona State University with academic expertise in feminist philosophy and literature. She has published inHypatia, The Journal of Social Philosophy, and is the co-editor ofApplying Care Ethics to Business, with Maurice Hamington (Springer Press).