Motherhood - Philosophy for Everyone (eBook)

The Birth of Wisdom

Sheila Lintott (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: EPUB | PDF

2011
John Wiley & Sons (Verlag)
978-1-4443-2453-2 (ISBN)

Infos

The complex world of motherhood is here unveiled. Covering issues ranging from whether we should occasionally lie to our children, to the unexpected challenges and complications of being a mother, Motherhood - Philosophy for Everyone offers insightful, serious but often humorous essays that can be enjoyed by everyone - including husbands and fathers.

• Considers salient philosophical issues relating to pregnancy, birth, babycare, and raising a child

• Chapters include 'The Days and Nights of a New Mother: Existentialism in the Nursery', 'The Media Proudly Presents:  Lessons' from Celebrity Moms', and 'The Off Button: Thought Experiments and Child Control'

• Contains work from diverse academic perspectives, including economics, psychology, education, English, sociology, women's studies, and theological studies, as well as from nurses and stay-at-home mothers

• Includes a foreword by Judith Warner, the New York Times columnist ('Domestic Disturbances') and author of Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety

Editor
Sheila Lintott is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Bucknell University, and the mother of two children. She is co-editor (with Allen Carlson) of Nature, Aesthetics, and Environmentalism: From Beauty to Duty (2008) and was co-editor of the American Society for Aesthetics Newsletter (2005–2008).   

Series Editor
Fritz Allhoff is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Western Michigan University, as well as a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University’s Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics. In addition to editing the Philosophy for Everyone series, Allhoff is the volume editor or co-editor for several titles, including Wine & Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007), Whiskey & Philosophy (with Marcus P. Adams, Wiley, 2009), and Food & Philosophy (with Dave Monroe, Wiley-Blackwell, 2007).

Autor

Editor SHEILA LINTOTT is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Bucknell University, and the mother of two children. Series Editor FRITZ ALLHOFF is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Western Michigan University, as well as a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University's Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics.

Inhalt

Foreword x
Judith Warner

Acknowledgments xv
Sheila Lintott

Navel-Gazing at Its Finest: An Introduction to Motherhood - Philosophy for Everyone 1
Sheila Lintott

Part I MOMMY BRAIN: Truth, Knowledge, and Belief in Mothering 15

1 How Many Experts Does It Take to Raise a Child? Mothering and the Quest for Certainty 17
Sue Ellen Henry

2 Creative Mothering: Lies and the Lying Mothers Who Tell Them 29
Amy Kind

3 Pro-Choice Philosopher Has Baby: Reflections on Fetal Life 41
Bertha Alvarez Manninen

4 Kim, Ellen, and Zack's Big Adventure: Lesbian Mothers Raising a Boy Steeped in His Masculinity 52
Kim Anno

Part II LABOR PAINS: The Work and Wonder of Being a Mom 63

5 Days and Nights of a New Mother: Existentialism in the Nursery 65
Elizabeth Butterfield

6 Mindful Mothering: How Feminist Buddhist Practices Enhance Experiences of Beauty 77
Sheryl Tuttle Ross

7 A Face Only a Mother Could Love? On Maternal Assessments of Infant Beauty 89
Glenn Parsons

8 Kevin, Coming Into Focus: On Getting to Know My Son 100
Laura Newhart

Part III MOM'S MORALITY: Ethical Issues in Mothering 115

9 Making Choices: The Ethics of Infant Feeding 117
Chris Mulford

10 Lactational Burkas and Milkmen: On Public Breastfeeding and Male Lactation 129
Maureen Sander-Staudt

11 On "Crying-It-Out" and Co-Sleeping 141
Kevin C. Elliott and Janet L. Elliott

12 Natural Childbirth is for the Birds 154
Jen Baker

Part IV Is Motherhood Everything You Thought It Would Be? Fantasy Meets Reality 167

13 The Off Button: Thought Experiments and Child Control 169
Sara Goering

14 The Virtues of Motherhood 180
Nin Kirkham

15 The Media Proudly Present: "Lessons" From Celebrity Moms 191
Clemence Due and Damien W. Riggs

16 God, Mom! The Blessings of Breasts and Womb 202
George A. Dunn

A Brief Afterword: Some Words from Contributors' Kids on Motherhood and Philosophy 213

Read All About It: A Feminist Bibliography on Pregnancy and Mothering 215
Compiled by Amy Mullin

Notes on Contributors 222

Rezensionen

"This book opens the doors about Motherhood and covers a range of
issues mother's face in a refreshing and thought provoking way."
(Motherhoodsupport.com, 22 March 2011)

"The series editors were ... smart to divide it into two volumes
instead of creating a single book on parenting in general. While
there are many questions that apply to the parent role in itself,
half the fun is the opportunity for the authors and readers to
consider what issues might be thought of as unique to one
particular parental role versus another. One of the virtues of
these collections is how they demonstrate the ways in which the
study of philosophy can really assist us in addressing concrete
dilemmas. Measuring the success of collections like these turns on
what you expect from them, and I think these two pull it off. The
articles are well-written, touches of humour are sprinkled
throughout, and the authors can translate complex philosophical
theories into a readable format. They apply their work to questions
that matter, and even when you don't agree with what they say,
there's enough substance here to create an interesting discussion."
(The Philosopher's Magazine, 23 March 2011)

"Subtitled "The Birth of Wisdom", a new book called Motherhood:
Philosophy For Everyone calls for a more pragmatic approach to
being a mum, in which we are not constantly comparing ourselves to
others." (Family Interest, December 2010)

"An unusual look at motherhood by several philosophers, which
covers ground-such as whether it is ever acceptable to lie to your
children- not often explored in maternity books. Thought
provoking." (Mother and Baby, December 2010)

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 9.5.2011
• Reihe/Serie: Philosophy for Everyone
• Mitarbeit: Herausgeber (Serie): Fritz Allhoff
• Vorwort: Judith Warner
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Familie / Erziehung
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Schlagworte: mother, mothering, parenting, parents, philosophy of motherhood, mom, feminist theory, gender, child • Philosophie • Philosophy • Wissenschaft
• ISBN-10: 1-4443-2453-5 / 1444324535
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4443-2453-2 / 9781444324532