Man dining in a high-end French restaurant. “Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup.” “Mais non, Monsieur, zis iz vly zoup!” Why does it matter? Because if it’s a fly in my soup I’m entitled to an apology and dinner on the house. But if not then, well, not. That’s the practical question. But the philosophical one is whether there’s a correct answer to the question, and if so, not what the correct answer is, but rather, regardless of what it is, in virtue of what is it the correct answer. Is it in virtue of the intentions of the chef? If so, given the value of the bill, can he be trusted to report his intentions honestly? Or is it in virtue of something independent of his intentions?
Complete change of topic. A student claims she was offended by what I said in class. Good! That’s my job. A student claims she was hurt by what I said in class. Even better! A student claims she was harmed by what I said in class. Can she be trusted to report this harm honestly? Let’s suppose she can. But can she be trusted to know that she’s been harmed rather than just hurt? Or is there an independent fact of the matter about whether something is an offence, a hurt, or a harm?
Another change of topic. A student claims she’s a woman, but she sure as hell looks like a man to me! Is what it is to be a woman for someone – as I did when we needed to make quota – to just claim she is? Is it to claim she is because she genuinely self-identifies as a woman? And if so how would she know what it’s like to be a woman? Or is there some independent fact of the matter about whether she is or is not? And if so, what kind of fact might that be?
These, and questions like them, are what sit at the core of the culture war currently raging here in the West. These questions need to be answered. Dinner at a high-end French restaurant may or may not include truffle, but the bill is never a trifle.
Categories: Everything You Wanted to Know About What's Going On in the World But Were Afraid to Ask, Social and Political Philosophy
Paulosophical Vimplications 
When does it matter whether they’re a woman or not? When you meet? When you go to dinner? When you try to sleep with them? If your goal isn’t to check anther box off of your list, does it matter if they’re a woman or not? Where is the line between opposition and to live and let live?
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