Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas 182 | Sally Haslanger on Social Construction and Critical Theory
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Jan 31, 2022 Sally Haslanger, the Ford Professor of Philosophy at MIT, dives deep into how our perceptions shape reality, discussing social constructionism's influence on concepts like race and gender. She argues that these categories are human-made, challenging natural determinism and emphasizing the need for critical examination. The conversation explores the societal dynamics of gender, the role of technology in empowerment, and the urgency of addressing inequities. Haslanger advocates for embracing diverse identities and making small changes in daily practices to promote social justice.
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Social Construction of Reality
- Reality exists, but how we categorize and describe it involves human choices.
- These categories can be influenced by both predictive accuracy and social factors.
Causal Social Construction
- Social construction has a causal element, where social norms influence our bodies and actions. Our bodies are shaped by both biology and social factors like gender norms.
Constitutive Social Construction
- Constitutive social construction defines categories based on social phenomena, like the legal status of "spouse".
- These categories have real-world implications, despite being socially defined.
