7th Nomos Meeting: Marriage and Family

June 14, 2012 - June 15, 2012
Nomos Network for Applied Philosophy, University of Barcelona

Facultat de Filosofia, Sala de Juntes
Montalegre 6
Barcelona
Spain

Speakers:

Heather Arnold
University of Leeds
Chris Bennett
University of Sheffield
Elizabeth Brake
University of Calgary
Serena Olsaretti
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Luís Duarte d’Almeida
Universitat de Girona

Organisers:

Giuliano Torrengo
University of Barcelona
Vera Tripodi
University of Barcelona

Topic areas

Talks at this conference

Add a talk

Details

One of the main topics in feminist philosophy is the notion of marriage. Traditionally, feminist philosophers have disputed the underlying moral and legal rationales for the structure of marriage and the legal recognition of same-sex marriage. Recently, an increasing number of feminists have beenfocusing on the metaphysical status of marriage also in its correlation with the categories of family, parenthoodadoption and sexual orientation. Moreover, it is widely held in the socials sciences and humanities that familyand marriage notions are socially constructed: family and marriage differ from one society to another and vary by legal jurisdiction, religious doctrine and culture.

Elizabeth Brake, in Minimizing MarriageMarriage, Morality, and Law (OUP, 2012) focuses on the plurality of possible adult caring relationships by proposing a new and innovative form of marriage, namely minimal marriage. The law should not restrict, Brake argues, the number or sex of the spouses, or require that that the exchange of marriage rights and responsibilities be reciprocal or be exchanged with one person. Rather,marital rights are exchanged reciprocally or asymmetrically. Thus, minimal marriage supports the view that some legal relationships could be sexual or economic, some nonexclusive sexual relationship but just caretaking relationships between adult family members or friends, others resemble traditional marriages or involve sharing a household without necessarily sharing sexual intimacies. Elizabeth Brake’s notion of minimal marriageexplores a territory halfway between feminist theory and political philosophy and has implications for issues that are relevant in both fields:what is, fundamentally, marriage? What defines a family? Does marriage necessarily include procreation? What is it that makes someone a parent? What does make a woman (or man) a mother (or father)?; Is parenthood a biological or natural relationship? This workshop aims, therefore, to be an opportunity to confront ideas and opinions between young and more experienced researchers on the topics at an international dimension and in an interdisciplinary perspective. The workshop will address these and related questions, including: family and adoption; reproduction, procreation and family; reproduction and sexuality; man and masculinity; sexuality and marriage; motherhood and fatherhood; marriage, same-sex unions and civil marriage.

Elizabeth Brake (PhD St. Andrews) is Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Calgary and specializes in ethics, political philosophy, and feminist philosophy. She also has research interests in philosophy and literature and the work of Kant, Hegel, and John Rawls. Her publications include “Marriage, Morality, and Institutional Value” in Ethical Theory and Moral Practice (2007), “Rawls and Feminism: What Should Feminists Make of Liberal Neutrality?” in the Journal of Moral Philosophy (2004), “Justice and Virtue in Kant’s Account of Marriage” in Kantian Review (2005).

Program:

Thursday, June 14

10.0-10.30 Registration

10.30 – 11.30: Elizabeth Brake (University of Calgary - Arizona State University): Philosophy of Marriage: Its recent past and possible future

11.30 -12.00 coffee break

12.00-13.30 Discussants:
Chloë FitzGerald (University of Western Ontario)
Esa Diaz Leon (University of Manitoba)
Daniele Santoro (LUISS University, Rome)

13.30-15.30 lunch

15.00-16.30 Chris Bennett (Sheffield University): Couples and Care: Reflections on Elizabeth Brake’s “Minimizing Marriage”

Discussants:
Giuliano Torrengo (LOGOS, University of Barcelona)
Claudia Compte (University of Valencia)
José Martínez (University of Barcelona)

16.30-17 coffee break

17.00-18.30 Serena Olsaretti (ICREA, Pompeu Fabra University and University of Cambridge): The truth in the public goods argument for sharing the costs of children

Discussants:
Josep E. Corbí (University of Valencia)
Sanja Bojanic Milutinovic (University of Belgrade)

Friday, June 15

10.00 – 10.50: Elizabeth Brake (University of Calgary - Arizona State University): Is Minimal Marriage Minimal Enough?

10.50 – 11.15 coffee break

11.15 -13.15 

Discussants:
Lina Papadaki (University of Creta)
Josefa Toribio (ICREA, Autòmona University of Barcelona)
Teresa Marques (Logos/LanCog, University of Lisbon)

13.15-15.15 lunch

15.15 -16.30 Heather Arnold (Leeds University): Taking the abolition of the family seriously

Discussants:
Genoveva Marti (ICREA-Universidad de Barcelona)
Andrew Williams (ICREA/ Pompeu Fabra University)
Manuel García-Carpintero  (University of Barcelona)

coffee break 16.30-16.45

16.45-18.00 Luis Duarte d’Almeida (University of Girona): Permission,
protection, promotion: Breaking down the justification of legal marriage

Discussants:
Vera Tripodi (University of Barcelona)
Christopher (Toffa) Evans (University Autònoma of Barcelona)

No registration fee, but if interested in attending please contact: [email protected][email protected], nomosmeeting(at) gmail.com.

For further information, please visit: 

Supporting material

Add supporting material (slides, programs, etc.)

Reminders

Registration

No

Who is attending?

No one has said they will attend yet.

Will you attend this event?


Let us know so we can notify you of any change of plan.