Abortion Policy, Law & PoliticsNEWS OR ANALYSIS
Potentiality and Sexual Ethics
Understanding the metaphysical concept of potentiality, as developed by Aristotle and Aquinas, can help socially conservative college students better defend traditional views on abortion, gender, and sexuality by clarifying what it means to have inherent capacities directed toward particular states of being or acting. It applies this concept to issues like disability, gender identity, and abortion, arguing that a woman is defined by the first potentiality to gestate new life, which remains even if actual ability is lost, and that this framework can strengthen conservative arguments on sexual ethics in secular academic settings.
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