New Polity The Metaphysical Problem of Sexual Difference w/ D. C. Schindler
Mar 26, 2026
D. C. Schindler, philosopher of metaphysics and Catholic thought, unpacks sexual difference as a metaphysical question. He explains contrariety vs. opposition, reframes Aristotle on sex as positive transcendence, and links soul, body, and species via form and act. Conversations touch on joy, the continuum of life, and how gender functions as a mode of human substance.
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Sexual Difference Is a Contrariety That Reveals Unity
- Sexual difference functions as a contrariety that reveals a whole genus rather than a mere spectrum of attributes.
- Schindler and Marc use Aristotle's hot/cold and light/dark examples to show contraries make each other intelligible and encompass an entire order.
Humor Reveals When Theories Miss The Truth
- Marc Barnes uses humor as a heuristic: if an account of gender removes what makes it funny, it's probably wrong.
- Schindler and Marc trade jokes and stories (Kierkegaard line, dad at lecture) to show joy and humor signal truth.
Aristotle's Female As Privation Comes From Substance Metaphysics
- Aristotle treats the female as a privation of the male by mapping form/privation patterns (act/potency) onto sex, making femaleness appear as a failure of form realization.
- Schindler explains this arises from Aristotle's substance metaphysics, not just bad biology, producing paradoxes like nature requiring its own failure.