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Sexual Orientation, Sexual Identity | Victor Tadros (Warwick)

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Dates

This is a past event
Time
4:30 pm to 6:00 pm
Location

Room 234, Second Floor, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU

Institute

Institute of Philosophy

Event type

Seminar

Event series

The Practical, the Political and the Ethical

Contact

020 7664 4865

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Sexual Orientation, Sexual Identity 

Victor Tadros (Warwick) 


Abstract

Sexual orientation and sexual identity are concepts that shape our understanding of our sexual lives. How are these concepts best fashioned in order to play this role? That is a question of conceptual engineering. This paper defends the view that sexual orientation depends on the actual sexual desires that a person has, has had, or will have. Sexual identity, in contrast, depends on a person’s sexual commitments, but only when those commitments are based on a restricted set of reasons; reasons that include, but are not restricted to, sexual desires that arise from sexual arousal. These reasons provide authenticity conditions of sexual identity. This conceptual scheme, it is argued, best captures two important features of our sexual lives - sexual self-discovery, and control over our socio-sexual lives. 



The Institute of Philosophy hosts a regular workshop series entitled ‘The Practical, the Political, and the Ethical’.
The series was created in 2015 by Véronique Munoz-Dardé (UCL) and Hallvard Lillehammer (Birkbeck) in order to discuss work in progress from visiting speakers. This year the series is convened by Elise Woodard (KCL) and Michael Hannon (Nottingham). Talks are normally 45 minutes (no pre-circulation of the paper), followed by discussion. All are welcome. 


This page was last updated on 2 July 2024

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