Overthink7 Okt 2025

Natality with Jennifer Banks

Why does much of the history of philosophy neglect the topic of birth? In episode 142 of Overthink, Ellie and David chat with Jennifer Banks about her book Natality: Toward a Philosophy of Birth. They think through the debate between pronatalism and antinatalism, and consider alternatives to these positions. They also discuss Hannah Arendt’s account of natality and what Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tells us about the relationship between birth and monstrosity. What is birth, and why does it seem to defy so many of our concepts and categories? What’s the difference between being-born and giving-birth? And how would our view of ourselves change if we saw ourselves through the lens of a “philosophy of birth” (as opposed to, say, “a philosophy of death”)? In the Substack bonus segment, your hosts dive further into Hannah Arendt’s works, focusing on the link between her concept of natality and her ideas about the public/private distinction.

Works Discussed:

Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition

Jennifer Banks, Natality: Toward a Philosophy of Birth

Alison Stone, Being Born: Birth and Philosophy

Dean Spears and Michael Geruso, After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People

Marjolein Oele, “The Dissolution of the Pregnant City: A Philosophical Account of Early Pregnancy Loss and Enigmatic Grief”

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(176)

Attention

Are you paying attention when you scroll online? In episode 176 of Overthink, Ellie and David draw your attention to attention. They explain why attention is so hard to define and debate the extent to...

2 Jun 57min

Coolness

Play it cool and play this episode. In episode 175 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk about what it means to be cool. From swag gap relationships to Mark Zuckerberg and the manosphere’s failed attempt...

26 Mai 54min

Climate Action with Kyle Whyte

What resources do Indigenous studies provide for addressing the crisis of human-made climate change? And how is the climate crisis linked to settler colonialism? In episode 174 of Overthink, Ellie and...

19 Mai 55min

Theft

Thou shalt not miss this episode! In episode 173 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk about theft. They discuss our moral intuitions around theft, how feudalism and capitalism may be founded upon an ori...

12 Mai 55min

Closer Look: Fanon, Wretched of the Earth

Does decolonization require violence? In episode 172 of Overthink, Ellie and David take a closer look at Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth, “the bible of decolonization.” They discuss Fanon’s b...

5 Mai 59min

Butts

Bottom, rump, booty, fanny, tush, and derriere! In episode 171 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk about butts. Why do humans have bigger rear ends than other animals? Why are butts often seen as a sit...

28 Apr 52min

Care with Premilla Nadasen

The discourse around today's crisis of care responds to the shredding of America's social safety net, but leaves out the most vulnerable almost entirely. In episode 170 of Overthink, Ellie and David d...

21 Apr 49min

Discipline

With the rise of hustle culture, the grind, and capitalist productivity, we often associate discipline with toxicity. But is there still value in disciplining oneself? In episode 169 of Overthink, Ell...

14 Apr 58min