Sheila Lintott 
Motherhood – Philosophy for Everyone 
The Birth of Wisdom

MOTHERHOOD

PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYONE

If you have ever wondered what makes a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ mother, or if mothers are always right in thinking their babies are beautiful, or indeed, whether mother always knows best, look no further. Without a single nag, Motherhood – Philosophy for Everyone covers these salient philosophical issues, and more, including:

* The anticipation of impending parenthood compared with the reality

* Should we tell the occasional lie to our children?

* What does the Bible actually say about the virgin birth?

* If we were able to turn our children off, would and should we be tempted by this option?

* The experience of lesbian mothering

* The unexpected challenges and complications of being a mother

‘As in any group of thinkers, some mothers are more ambitiously reflective than others, either out of temperamental thoughtfulness, moral and political concerns, or, most often, because they have serious problems with their children. However, maternal thinking is no rarity. Maternal work itself demands that mothers think…’

From Maternal Thinking: Toward A Politics of Peace, Sara Ruddick

Table of Content

Foreword x
Judith Warner

Acknowledgments xv
Sheila Lintott

Navel-Gazing at Its Finest: An Introduction to Motherhood – Philosophy for Everyone 1
Sheila Lintott

Part I MOMMY BRAIN: Truth, Knowledge, and Belief in Mothering 15

1 How Many Experts Does It Take to Raise a Child? Mothering and the Quest for Certainty 17
Sue Ellen Henry

2 Creative Mothering: Lies and the Lying Mothers Who Tell Them 29
Amy Kind

3 Pro-Choice Philosopher Has Baby: Reflections on Fetal Life 41
Bertha Alvarez Manninen

4 Kim, Ellen, and Zack’s Big Adventure: Lesbian Mothers Raising a Boy Steeped in His Masculinity 52
Kim Anno

Part II LABOR PAINS: The Work and Wonder of Being a Mom 63

5 Days and Nights of a New Mother: Existentialism in the Nursery 65
Elizabeth Butterfield

6 Mindful Mothering: How Feminist Buddhist Practices Enhance Experiences of Beauty 77
Sheryl Tuttle Ross

7 A Face Only a Mother Could Love? On Maternal Assessments of Infant Beauty 89
Glenn Parsons

8 Kevin, Coming Into Focus: On Getting to Know My Son 100
Laura Newhart

Part III MOM’S MORALITY: Ethical Issues in Mothering 115

9 Making Choices: The Ethics of Infant Feeding 117
Chris Mulford

10 Lactational Burkas and Milkmen: On Public Breastfeeding and Male Lactation 129
Maureen Sander-Staudt

11 On ‘Crying-It-Out’ and Co-Sleeping 141
Kevin C. Elliott and Janet L. Elliott

12 Natural Childbirth is for the Birds 154
Jen Baker

Part IV Is Motherhood Everything You Thought It Would Be? Fantasy Meets Reality 167

13 The Off Button: Thought Experiments and Child Control 169
Sara Goering

14 The Virtues of Motherhood 180
Nin Kirkham

15 The Media Proudly Present: ‘Lessons’ From Celebrity Moms 191
Clemence Due and Damien W. Riggs

16 God, Mom! The Blessings of Breasts and Womb 202
George A. Dunn

A Brief Afterword: Some Words from Contributors’ Kids on Motherhood and Philosophy 213

Read All About It: A Feminist Bibliography on Pregnancy and Mothering 215
Compiled by Amy Mullin

Notes on Contributors 222

About the author

Editor

SHEILA LINTOTT is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Bucknell University, and the mother of two children.

Series Editor

FRITZ ALLHOFF is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Western Michigan University, as well as a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University’s Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics.