{"product_id":"the-foetal-condition-9780745647302","title":"The Foetal Condition","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAbortion is a contentious issue in social life but it has rarely been subjected to careful scrutiny in the social sciences. While the legalization of abortion has brought it into the public domain, it still remains a sensitive topic in many cultures, often hidden from view and rarely spoken about, consigned to a shadowy existence.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Drawing on reports gathered from hospital settings and in-depth interviews with women who have had abortions, Luc Boltanski sets out to explain the ambiguous status of this social practice. Abortion, he argues, has to remain in the shadows, for it reveals a contradiction at the heart of the social contract: the principle of the uniqueness of beings conflicts with the postulate of their replaceable nature, a postulate without which no society would achieve demographic renewal.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  This leads Boltanski to explore the way human beings are engendered and to analyze the symbolic constraints that preside over their entry into society. What\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'An utterly original treatment of an interminably discussed issue. Combining anthropological reflection with interviews, social theorizing with hospital reports, Boltanski produces an account that recasts the question of abortion, even as it cannot fail to annoy all sides in the current debate.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNancy Fraser, The New School for Social Research \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e '\u003ci\u003eThe Foetal Condition\u003c\/i\u003e is not a political intervention, it does not rehash for us the endless arguments for or against abortion. Rather, it is about a far more startling topic: the connection between abortion and the process of engendering, becoming a member of the human species, at once generic and particular. Using a large range of anthropological evidence, Boltanski shows that societies have always practiced abortion, and that the silences, prohibitions or tacit acceptation of abortion touch on the troubling question of how societies define a \"human being\". This highly original book cannot fail to become a classic among anthropologists, sociologists, philosophers, and ethicists.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEva Illouz, Hebrew University of Jerusalem\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction 1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1 he Anthropological Dimensions of Abortion 11\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e2 The Two Constraints on Engendering 39\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e3 Understandings 60 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e4 The Parental Project 90\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e5 Constructing Foetal Categories 125\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e6 The Justification of Abortion 158\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e7 The Experience of Abortion 193\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eConclusion: Forgetting Abortion 233\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNotes 251\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWorks Cited 299\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIndex 317\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49404390605143,"sku":"9780745647302","price":54.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780745647302.jpg?v=1730486314","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-foetal-condition-9780745647302","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}