Title
One or two? A Process View of pregnancy
Abstract
How many individuals are present where we see a pregnant individual? Within a substance ontological framework, there are exactly two possible answers to this question. The standard answer—two individuals—is typically championed by scholars endorsing the predominant Containment View of pregnancy, according to which the foetus resides in the gestating organism like in a container. The alternative answer—one individual—has recently found support in the Parthood View, according to which the foetus is a part of the gestating organism. Here I propose a third answer: a pregnant individual is neither two individuals nor one individual but something in between one and two. This is because organisms are better understood as processes than as substances. With a special focus on the Parthood View, I explain why a Process View of pregnancy, according to which a pregnant individual is a bifurcating hypercomplex process, surpasses the substance ontological approaches.
Keywords
PregnancySubstance ontologyProcess ontologyParthoodOrganismHylomorphism
Object type
Language
English [eng]
Persistent identifier
https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:1539054
Appeared in
Title
Philosophical Studies
Volume
179
Issue
5
ISSN
0031-8116
Issued
2021
From page
1495
To page
1521
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date issued
2021
Access rights
Rights statement
© The Author(s) 2021

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