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SUMMARY:Sex as a process - Paul E. Griffiths (University of Sydney & Macqu
 arie University)
DTSTART:20260312T153000Z
DTEND:20260312T170000Z
UID:TALK244129@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Ahmad Elabbar
DESCRIPTION:Biological sex is not determined at conception. This fact has 
 been obscured by concentrating on humans and ignoring the many species in 
 which individuals change sex during their life cycle\, as well as the many
  species with non-genetic or facultatively genetic sex determination syste
 ms. In these species it is self-evident that sex is the outcome of a devel
 opmental process\, a process that can take different paths in different ci
 rcumstances. But the general point applies equally to humans. Human sex ch
 romosomes cause sexual development to proceed down a particular pathway (o
 ther things being equal)\, but they do not constitute sex any more than ne
 st temperature constitutes sex in crocodiles. In humans\, just as in speci
 es with non-genetic sex determination\, assigning sex to pre-reproductive 
 life-history stages involves 'prospective narration' – classifying the p
 resent in terms of its predicted future. Sex is a process.\n\nAs a corolla
 ry to this view\, the idea that an individual organism is male\, female\, 
 hermaphrodite or neuter should be replaced by the more accurate idea that 
 organisms have state-dependent sexual life-history strategies under which 
 individuals manifest one or more sexes during specific life-history stages
  and depending on circumstances. This is the only view that can be consist
 ently applied across the whole diversity of sexual species.\n\nThe paper c
 oncludes by comparing and contrasting this processual view of biological s
 ex with other recent 'sex realist' theories in philosophy of biology.
LOCATION:Hopkinson Lecture Theatre\, New Museums Site
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