Philosophy not Ideology: A Response to Ward Jones and Lindsay Kelland — David Benatar (author of "Second Sexism")

Ward Jones and Lindsay Kelland’s review of "The Second Sexism", is the nastiest academic review of this book yet to be published. Its shortcomings suggest that its authors are so wrapped up in the orthodoxies of a particular conception of feminism that they are unable to see the arguments that challenge their deep-seated assumptions.

They raise a series of objections that were considered and responded to in the book, yet with rare exceptions, they are content simply to reiterate those objections without actually engaging my responses to them, let alone even mentioning that I have provided responses. Readers of their review who have not read the book, especially those who share their assumptions, will thus wonder how silly I must be not to have considered those arguments. It is a neat rhetorical flourish, but it is not philosophy.