Law, selfhood and feminist philosophy: monstrous aberrations

Introduction to Section 1 : the feminist relational ontology of Christine Battersby and Adriana Cavarero -- Elizabethan 'spinning' and Penelope's weaving : the political, the common law and stately bodies -- Untimely voices : rethinking the political with Adriana Cavarero and Christine Battersby -- Relational ontologies : Adriana Cavarero and Christine Battersby explored via Spinoza -- Introduction to Section 2 : feminist perspectives on the social contract -- On not making ourselves the prey of others : Jean Hampton's feminist contractarianism -- Hobbes' frontispiece : authorship, subordination and contract -- Carole Pateman, the sexual contract, and freedom -- Introduction to Section 3 : law and intersections -- The concept of harm in actions for wrongful birth : nature and pre-modern views of women -- Spinoza, feminism and privacy : exploring an immanent ethics of privacy -- Readings of warren and Brandeis' "the right to privacy" : gendered and raced bodies.

"At the intersection of law, feminism and philosophy, this book analyses the ways in which certain bodies and 'selves' continue to be treated as monstrous aberrations from the 'ideal' figure or norm. Employing contemporary feminist philosophy to rethink accepted legal ideas, the book is divided into three sections. The first focuses on the different relational ontologies of philosophers Adriana Cavarero and Christine Battersby - also considering their work via a third term: Spinoza. The second turns to diverse feminist engagements with the social contract theorists. The third section employs insights from throughout the book to focus more explicitly on law - and, in particular privacy law and the so-called 'wrongful birth' cases. Bringing together more than twenty years of sustained reflection, this book offers an insightful account of how contemporary feminist philosophy can contribute to a richer understanding of law. It will be of enormous interest to scholars and students working in the areas of legal theory, feminist thought and philosophy"--