Natality : toward a philosophy of birth / Jennifer Banks.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Banks, Jennifer (Editor), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Birth (Philosophy).

Fertility, Human--Philosophy.

Fertility, Human.

Childbirth.

Physical Description:

251 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, [2023]

Summary:

"Birth is one of the most fraught and polarized issues of our time, at the center of debates on abortion, gender, work, and medicine. But birth is not solely an issue; it is a fundamental part of the human condition, and, alongside death, the most consequential event in human life. Yet it remains dramatically unexplored. Although we have long intellectual traditions of wrestling with mortality, few have ever heard of natality, the term political theorist Hannah Arendt used to describe birth's active role in our lives. In this ambitious, revelatory book, Jennifer Banks begins with Arendt's definition of natality as the 'miracle that saves the world' to develop an expansive framework for birth's philosophical, political, spiritual, and aesthetic significance"-- Provided by publisher

Contents:

Introduction

The miracle that saves the world

The soil is still not rich enough

The soul most alive to tenderness

The workshop of filthy creation

To be the instrument

The will to change

Ancient properties

Epilogue.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-236) and index.

ISBN:

1324006390

9781324006398

OCLC:

1346294569