Sexual Desire: A Philosophical InvestigationA&C Black, 5. märts 2006 - 448 pages A dazzling treatise, as erudite and eloquent as Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex and considerably more sound in its conclusion - TLS "He is an eloquent and practised writer" - The Independent (UK) When John desires Mary or Mary desires John, what does either of them want? What is meant by innocence, passion, love and arousal, desire, perversion and shame? These are just a few of the questions Roger Scruton addresses in this thought-provoking intellectual adventure. Beginning from purely philosophical premises, and ranging over human life, art and institutions, he surveys the entire field of sexuality; equally dissatisfied with puritanism and permissiveness, he argues for a radical break with recent theories. Upholding traditional morality - though in terms that may shock many of its practitioners - his argument gravitates to that which is candid, serene and consoling in the experience of sexual love. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 55
... behaviour and in sexual morality . As I have already remarked , it seems to me inevitable that sexual conduct should be encumbered with moral scruples . I also believe that many of these scruples are justifiable , and that the failure ...
... behaviour , and yet which starts up from the smallest circumstance . How do we explain this catastrophe ? What is it in jealousy that proves so destructive to the one who suffers it , and why is jealousy so difficult to overcome ? We ...
... behaviour displays . We should not conclude , however , that it is only as an active being that man displays his distinctive causality . Men are distinguished equally by the quality of their experiences and by a receptiveness ...
... behaviour , which might show important similarities between human beings and the lower animals . It is likely that there are such similarities , since sexual behaviour is explained , in both cases , by a reproductive function . But such ...
... behaviour of animals and that of human beings . Like animals we feel sexual urges ; like animals we reproduce sexually ; like animals we feel a need to unite through our sexual organs , and like animals we experience a compelling ...
Contents
1 | |
16 | |
36 | |
4 Desire | 59 |
5 The individual object | 94 |
6 Sexual phenomena | 138 |
7 The science of sex | 180 |
8 Love | 213 |
11 Sexual morality | 322 |
12 The politics of sex | 348 |
Epilogue | 362 |
Appendix 1 The first person | 364 |
Appendix 2 Intentionality | 377 |
Notes | 392 |
Index of Names | 419 |
Index of Subjects | 424 |