Feminism, Adaptive Preferences, and Social Contract Theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12146135 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mary Barbara Walsh (0000-0001-8880-5169, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 829-845 |
| Publication date | 2015-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Hypatia (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0887-5367 • E-ISSN: 1527-2001 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/hypa.12175 |
| OpenAlex | W1498918644 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 25 |
Feminists have long been aware of the pathology and the dangers of what are now termed “adaptive preferences.” Adaptive preferences are preferences formed in unconscious response to oppression. Thinkers from each wave of feminism continue to confront the problem of women's internalization of their own oppression, that is, the problem of women forming their preferences within the confining and deforming space that patriarchy provides. All preferences are, in fact, formed in response to a (more or less) limited set of options, but not all preferences are unconscious, pathological responses to oppression. Feminist theory therefore requires a method for distinguishing all preferences from adaptive or deformed preferences. Social contract theory provides such a tool. Social contract theory models autonomous preference‐acquisition and retention at both the external level of causation and the internal level of justification. In doing so, social contract theory exposes preferences that do not meet those standards, acting as both a conceptual test that identifies adaptive preferences and as a practical tool for personal and social clarification. A social contract approach helps persons and societies to identify and to confront preferences rooted in unconscious response to oppression
Economics · Feminism · Feminist theory · Microeconomics · Oppression · Patriarchy · Political science · Preference · Psychoanalysis · Social contract · Sociology · Unconscious mind · Gender Studies · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Law · Psychology · Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment · Social Psychology
The Love–Hate Relationship between Feminism and Consequentialism
Analytical Feminist Ethics
Beyond adaptive preferences
Covid as a catalyst
More than an idea
Structural Injustice and Self‐Development
The great invigilator
Gender, Social Reproduction and the Construction of Capabilities for Social Sustainability of Agriculture
Public justification, gender, and the family
With Pleasure
Relational approaches to personal autonomy
Adaptive preferences in political philosophy
The Ethics of Parental Leave and Childcare
Toward a feminist theory of the state
Justice, gender, and the family
Justice as Fairness
Sour Grapes
Sour Grapes
Why Feminist Contractarianism?
Autonomy, Gender, Politics
Beyond the social contract
The Return of Feminist Liberalism
Sex and social justice
Varieties of Feminist Liberalism
The Return of Feminist Liberalism
Adaptive Preferences and Women's Empowerment
Justice and the Politics of Difference
Colburn on Covert Influences
Liberalism, Adaptive Preferences, and Gender Equality
Rethinking Relational Autonomy
Selflessness and Responsibility for Self
American Political Thought
Autonomy and Adaptive Preferences
| Unique citing works | 13 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2.17 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2026 (7) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 13 |