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SUMMARY:Sham matings and other shenanigans: on animal homosexuality - Piet
 er R. Adriaens (KU Leuven\, Belgium)
DTSTART:20220519T143000Z
DTEND:20220519T160000Z
UID:TALK173435@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Richard Staley
DESCRIPTION:Is there such a thing as animal homosexuality? For the past tw
 o hundred years\, scientists have been in two minds about this question. O
 ne camp is sceptical\, explaining away animal homosexual behaviours\, for 
 instance\, as mere reflex phenomena that result from various circumstances
 \, such as sex segregation or a failure in sex recognition. Surely\, these
  behaviours should not be associated with homosexual desires\, preferences
 \, or identities\, as they usually are in humans. Others have been less re
 ticent\, arguing that there is indeed such a thing as animal homosexuality
 . In this talk\, I side with the latter. I object to sceptical views on bo
 th conceptual and empirical grounds. First\, I argue that there are variou
 s definitions of concepts like desire and preference\, some of which allow
  us to ascribe homosexual desires and preferences to some nonhuman animals
 . Second\, I provide some empirical evidence that suggests the existence o
 f many dimensions of homosexuality\, in addition to behaviours\, including
  evidence that some male animals do prefer homosexual to heterosexual acti
 vities.
LOCATION:Hopkinson Lecture Theatre and Zoom
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