This week at Fairer Disputations, we are proud to present a four-part exchange between a Catholic theologian and a radical feminist philosopher:
In her opening salvo, Catholic theologian Rachel Coleman argues that the two worldviews have a shared foundation: namely, the acceptance of biological sex and, therefore, the idea that objective reality transcends the individual will.
In part two, philosopher Kate Phelan disagrees, explaining that radical feminism is not based on advocating for women as a sex, but as a sex-class.
In part three, Coleman responds that the category of “sex-class” depends on the preexisting reality of biological “sex.” She then offers a reading of the Genesis creation story based on St. Augustine and John Paul II.
Finally, in part four, Phelan affirms the beauty of the vision of equal dignity articulated by John Paul II, but argues that Catholicism’s emphasis on companionship cannot erase the oppression inherent in heterosexual relationships.
