Description: Ron Mallon explores how thinking and talking about kinds of person can bring those kinds into being. He considers what normative implications this social constructionism has for our understanding of our practices of representing human kinds, like race, gender, and sexual orientation, and for our own agency.
Review Quotes: "Mallon's The Construction of Human Kinds stands out from other work in social metaphysics by using recent research in evolutionary psychology and cognitive science to defend particular views and more generally a naturalistic account of social construction. In addition to focusing on metaphysics, Mallon also discusses issues in areas including ethics, philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language. The dialogue between research in different disciplines and across philosophy is welcome and enlightening. ... The Construction of Human Kinds also draws out issues and questions about the connections between explanation and justice and between representation and the social world that are ripe for further inquiry. The book will be of interest to many working in social metaphysics and social philosophy."--Katherine Ritchie, Ethics
"Mallon's book is a useful guide for readers with an interest in metaphysics and little familiarity with recent writing on race." -- Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"His book has much to recommend it. It is careful, scholarly, clear and tackles important issues...To sum up, The Construction of Human Kinds is a valuable addition to the literature. The book will be accessible to readers with a good undergraduate background in philosophy, and should be read by philosophers who want to understand the metaphysics and semantics of socially constructed kinds." --Metapsychology Online Reviews