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16193Kant and Sexual PerversionThe Monist 86 (1): 55-89. 2003.This article discusses the views of Immanuel Kant on sexual perversion (what he calls "carnal crimes against nature"), as found in his Vorlesung (Lectures on Ethics) and the Metaphysics of Morals (both the Rechtslehre and Tugendlehre). Kant criticizes sexual perversion by appealing to Natural Law and to his Formula of Humanity. Neither argument for the immorality of sexual perversion succeeds.
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31Sexual Use and What To Do About ItEssays in Philosophy 2 (2): 37-54. 2001.I begin by describing the hideous nature of sexuality, that which makes sexual desire and activity morally suspicious, or at least what we have been told about the moral foulness of sex by, in particular, Immanuel Kant, but also by some of his predecessors (e.g., Augustine) and by some contemporary philosophers. A problem arises because acting on sexual desire, given this Kantian account of sex, apparently conflicts with the Categorical Imperative. I then propose a typology of possible solutions…Read more
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6047Gender, Objectivity, And RealismThe Monist 77 (4): 509-530. 1994.A detailed examination of the philosophy of science of Evelyn Fox Keller, with special emphasis on her account of "objectivity" and her understanding of the methodology of Barbara McClintock.
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49Review of Fact and Value: Essays on Ethics and Metaphysics for Judith Jarvis Thomson, ed. Alex Byrne, Robert Stalnaker, and Ralph Wedgwood (review)Essays in Philosophy 4 (1): 70-75. 2003.
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21Additional readingIn Sex From Plato to Paglia: A Philosophical Encyclopedia, Greenwood Press. pp. 2--767. 2006.
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57Pornography and the social sciences: Reply to Brannigan and GoldenbergSocial Epistemology 2 (2). 1988.
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4540The History of Sexual Anatomy and Self-Referential Philosophy of ScienceMetaphilosophy 34 (3): 229-249. 2003.This essay is a case study of the self-destruction that occurs in the work of a social-constructionist historian of science who embraces a radical philosophy of science. It focuses on Thomas Laqueur's Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud in arguing that a history of science committed to the social construction of science and to the central theses of Kuhnian, Duhemian, and Quinean philosophy of science is incoherent through self-reference. Laqueur's text is examined in detail in o…Read more
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43The philosophy of sex and love: an introductionParagon House. 2008.This introductory textbook is an overview of the nature and the ethics of the many aspects of sex and love"--Provided by publisher.
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2723Deception in Social Science Research: Is Informed Consent Possible?Hastings Center Report 8 (5): 40-46. 1978.Deception of subjects is used frequently in the social sciences. Examples are provided. The ethics of experimental deception are discussed, in particular various maneuvers to solve the problem. The results have implications for the use of deception in the biomedical sciences.
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49Sex from Plato to Paglia: a philosophical encyclopedia (edited book)Greenwood Press. 2006.Sexuality has captured the imagination of thinkers since antiquity. It has inspired numerous creative works and posed myriad ethical, legal, and social challenges. Unlike other references which discuss the biology of sex, this encyclopedia explores sexuality as the subject of philosophy. Through more than 150 alphabetically arranged entries on thinkers, topics, movements, religions, and concepts, the encyclopedia locates sexuality in its humanistic and social contexts.
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19Book Review: Joan McGregor. Is It Rape? On Acquaintance Rape and Taking Women’s Consent Seriously, Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate, 2005. Pp. x + 267. ISBN 0-7546-5066-9. $99.95, cloth; $29.95, paper (review)Law and Philosophy 25 (6): 663-672. 2006.
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1825Philosophy of sexualityInternet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2009.This encyclopedia article on the philosophy of sexuality discusses the main themes, concepts, and debates in the field, including the metaphysics (or philosophical anthropology) of sex, the morality of sexual behavior, pragmatic and utilitarian evaluations of sexuality, and sexual perversion.
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389Philosophy of Love: A Partial Summing-UpMIT Press. 2009.In 1984, Irving Singer published the first volume of what would become a classic and much acclaimed trilogy on love. Trained as an analytical philosopher, Singer first approached his subject with the tools of current philosophical methodology. Dissatisfied by the initial results, he turned to the history of ideas in philosophy and the arts for inspiration. He discovered an immensity of speculation and artistic practice that reached wholly beyond the parameters he had been trained to consider tru…Read more
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5Union, Autonomy, and ConcernIn Roger E. Lamb (ed.), Love Analyzed, Westview Press. pp. 65--92. 1997.
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2139Antioch's “Sexual Offense Policy”: A Philosophical ExplorationJournal of Social Philosophy 28 (1): 22-36. 1997.An analytic investigation of Antioch's "Sexual Offense Policy."
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960The Coherence of LovePhilosophy and Theology 12 (2): 293-315. 2000.I examine three common beliefs about love: constancy, exclusivity, and the claim that love is a response to the properties of the beloved. Following a discussion of their relative consistency, I argue that neither the constancy nor the exclusivity of love are saved by the contrary belief, that love is not (entirely) a response to the properties of the beloved.
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8739In defense of BaconPhilosophy of the Social Sciences 25 (2): 192-215. 1995.Feminist science critics, in particular Sandra Harding, Carolyn Merchant, and Evelyn Fox Keller, claim that misogynous sexual metaphors played an important role in the rise of modern science. The writings of Francis Bacon have been singled out as an especially egregious instance of the use of misogynous metaphors in scientific philosophy. This paper offers a defense of Bacon.
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1130Bad apples: Feminist politics and feminist scholarshipPhilosophy of the Social Sciences 29 (3): 354-388. 1999.Some exceptional and surprising mistakes of scholarship made in the writings of a number of feminist academics (Ruth Bleier, Ruth Hubbard, Susan Bordo, Sandra Harding, and Rae Langton) are examined in detail. This essay offers the psychological hypothesis that these mistakes were the result of political passion and concludes with some remarks about the ability of the social sciences to study the effect of the politics of the researcher on the quality of his or her research.
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Areas of Specialization
Applied Ethics |
Normative Ethics |
Philosophy of Gender, Race, and Sexuality |