Elselijn Kingma - Metaphysics of pregnancy

Often, when philosophical questions are asked about pregnancy, they concern ethical problems about abortion, surrogacy or assisted conception. But the answers to these questions might depend in part on answers to metaphysical questions. One of these metaphysical questions concerns the relationship between the mother and her fetus. Is the mother a biological container for her developing baby, or is the fetus a part of the mother? It’s a question that may have important implications, but it’s also one of the big existential questions of life, a question about what it is to be human.

Today’s consultation is with philosopher Elselijn Kingma, Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Southampton.