The Bioethics of Circumcision with Brian Earp

Interested in the ethics of circumcision? You’ve come to the right place! Eli and Max are joined by the bioethicist Prof. Brian Earp (National University of Singapore and Oxford University), a leading scholar of genital cutting and bodily integrity. Brian walks us through recent developments in the ethics of bodily integrity, and then we discuss the pros and cons of focusing on harm in ethical debates about circumcision. We raise and critique three prominent defenses of circumcision, by Joseph Mazor, Richard Shweder, and Michael and David Benatar. Then Eli, Max, and Brian each offer the best argument they can in favor of circumcision before critiquing these arguments.

Brian Earp, “Male or Female Genital Cutting: Why ‘Health Benefits’ Are Morally Irrelevant” 

Michael Benatar and David Benatar, “Between Prophylaxis and Child Abuse: The Ethics of Neonatal Male Circumcision” 

Joseph Mazor, "The Child’s Interests and the Case for the Permissibility of Male Infant Circumcision”   

Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon, “On the Impermissibility of Infant Male Circumcision: A Response to Mazor "

Richard Shweder, “Permitting Gender Equality in Abrahamic Circumcision: The Central Argument – In Retrospect and Reply”

Siobhan E. Alexander, Douglas W. Storm, and Christopher S. Cooper: “Teasing in school locker rooms regarding penile appearance”