CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2017
| Author | Bondarenko, Olesya |
|---|---|
| Title | Two Theories Better Than One? Integration and Epistemic Values in Research on Sexual Orientation |
| Summary | This thesis deals with the problem of integration in the context of research on human sexual orientation after “nature vs nurture” debates - the struggle to explain human traits, particularly behavioral ones, by either biological or social factors. Contrary to what I call “integrationist optimism” in current philosophical literature, I argue that integrated theories of sexual orientation are not necessarily in a better position than single-factor ones to accurately capture the causal complexity of sexual orientation. This is due to several issues that theoretical integration can face, including evidential ambiguity of the integrated constituent theories as well as trade-offs between accuracy and other epistemic values. Moreover, I show that an emphasis on such epistemic values as simplicity and breadth of scope may stand in the way of representing the causal complexity of the studied phenomenon. Finally, pragmatic factors stemming from the legacy of “nature vs nurture” thinking may prevent researchers from fully acknowledging the complex character of sexual orientation. The thesis offers an in-depth analysis of two integrative proposals – “evolutionary social constructivism” of homosexuality (P. R. Adriaens, A. De Block) and “Exotic Becomes Erotic” theory of sexual orientation (D. Bem) – to illustrate these claims. |
| Supervisor | Kronfeldner, Maria |
| Department | Philosophy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2017/bondarenko_olesya.pdf |
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