The Philosopher's Guide to Parenthood

Examines and deconstructs the highly interrelated biological, social, legal and moral concepts and practices that make up parenthood today.

Our understanding of what it means to be a parent is shaped by our biological, social, legal, and moral concepts of parenthood. This book combines traditional philosophical methods with research in the broader social sciences and humanities to explore the dilemmas which challenge our understanding of parenthood today.Our understanding of what it means to be a parent in any given context is shaped by our biological, social, legal, and moral concepts of parenthood. These are themselves subject to the influence of changing expectations, as new technologies are produced, cultural views of the family are transformed, and laws shift in response. In this book Teresa Baron provides a detailed and incisive overview of the key questions, widespread presuppositions, and dominant approaches in the field of philosophy of parenthood. Baron examines paradigm cases and problem cases alike through an interdisciplinary lens, bringing philosophy of parenthood into dialogue with research on family-making and childrearing from across the social sciences and humanities. Her book aims to answer old questions, draw out new questions, and interrogate notions that we often take for granted in this field, including the very concept of parenthood itself.