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<p>I defend the <i>containment view</i>—the position that a fetus is (1) merely contained by its mother and (2) an organism during pregnancy. I argue against the <i>parthood view</i>, which states that a fetus is part of its mother. To do so, I bring the personal identity literature—particularly <i>animalism</i>—to bear on the metaphysics of pregnancy literature. I propose that an adequate account of pregnancy must tell a coherent story about what happens at birth. I deploy three thought experiments, each modeled on classic <i>remnant</i>,<i> fission</i>,<i> and transplant</i> cases to demonstrate that the parthood view must make unappealing commitments to explain birth. Specifically, it is incompatible with standard accounts of human animal persistence. By contrast, the containment view offers a simple explanation.</p>

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Birth and the maiden

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月28日

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  • Sonya M. Ringer

摘要

I defend the containment view—the position that a fetus is (1) merely contained by its mother and (2) an organism during pregnancy. I argue against the parthood view, which states that a fetus is part of its mother. To do so, I bring the personal identity literature—particularly animalism—to bear on the metaphysics of pregnancy literature. I propose that an adequate account of pregnancy must tell a coherent story about what happens at birth. I deploy three thought experiments, each modeled on classic remnant, fission, and transplant cases to demonstrate that the parthood view must make unappealing commitments to explain birth. Specifically, it is incompatible with standard accounts of human animal persistence. By contrast, the containment view offers a simple explanation.