“There are indeed consequences when we punch down or pretend that what is, in fact, a hostile attack, is merely ‘inquiry for inquiry’s sake.’ Aside from the emotional wounds we inflict on actual people, philosophical discourse matters beyond that. It did matter in this case.”

The following is a guest post by Talia Mae Bettcher, Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Los Angeles, and author of the forthcoming Beyond Personhood: An Essay in Trans Philosophy.

It is a follow-up to her “When Tables Speak: On the Existence of Trans Philosophy“.

In this interview, Talia Mae Bettcher, professor and former chair of the department of philosophy at California State University, Los Angeles, talks about growing up born again in Canada, the Trinity, Tolkien, Asimov, socially blossoming at Glendon College, the ontological argument, existential psychoanalysis, feminism, Euripides, Rousseau, The Unconscious as Infinite Sets, Saussurian linguistics, the Berlin Wall, Kit Fine, going to UCLA for grad school, living a double life, a downward spiral, her new book, coming out to her department with the support of Barbra Herman, Sandra Harding, queer theory, Jake Hale, how John Carriero saved her, the self, early modern philosophy and ordinary language philosophy, the Smoker, landing a one year gig in a small town, her triumphant return to the Los Angeles area, what it’s like to be chair at Cal State LA, Caitlin Jenner, gender critical feminists, cottage industries, the LAPD, how she’s evolved as a philosopher, Hypatia, Daily Nous and philosophy on the internet, the future of philosophy, the 5, and her last meal…

“Once we ask the question of what a woman is, things immediately become more complicated philosophically… I am actually quite willing to have a discussion with gender critical feminists about these issues. I would love a genuine conversation to determine whether bridge-building is possible. After all, non-trans and trans women alike face oppression. Sometimes the oppressions are the same, and sometimes they are different. But this is just the “nature of the beast”…

The following is a guest post by Talia Mae Bettcher, Professor and Chair of Philosophy at California State University, Los Angeles.

It was just another day in academia.  Another obscure journal, another specialized article. Another scholar publishing in a marginalized field, failing to cite the published work in that field.  Another peer review process ignoring the very existence of marginalized scholars and fields.  Ho hum…..