Pornography, social ontology, and feminist philosophy

Jenkins, K. (2020) Pornography, social ontology, and feminist philosophy. APA Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy, 20(1), pp. 18-22.

Abstract

Mari Mikkola’s Pornography: A Philosophical Introduction is a rich, thorough, and important book. With great skill and precision, Mikkola maps the conceptual terrain of pornography; summarises and assesses key debates in the existing literature; and contributes her own insights – chiefly, in my view, an appealing artefactual definition of pornography, and a strong case for a methodological commitment to discussing pornography in a way that is grounded in empirical reality. The result is much more than the promised ‘introduction’: it is a key critical study that will, I am sure, play a major role in shaping future debates on this topic. I focus on a brief part of the book where Mikkola offers a critique of a paper of mine (2017) on pornography and social ontology. In short, I think Mikkola’s critique is correct, and I’ll attempt a re-working of the argument I made in that paper which, I hope, avoids the problems she identifies.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Jenkins, Dr Katharine
• Authors: Jenkins, K.
• Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
• College/School: College of Arts > School of Humanities > Philosophy
• Journal Name: APA Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy
• Publisher: American Philosophical Association
• ISSN: 2155-9708
• ISSN (Online): 2155-9708
• Published Online: 26 October 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 by the American Philosophical Association
• First Published: First published in APA Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy 20(1):18-22
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy