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110562The Philosophy of sex: contemporary readings (edited book)Rowman & Littlefield. 2002.This best-selling volume examines the nature, morality, and social meanings of contemporary sexual phenomena. Updated and new discussion questions offer students starting points for debate in both the classroom and the bedroom.
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16167Kant 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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8705In 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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6019Gender, 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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4519The 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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2713Deception 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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2129Antioch'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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1915Sexual use and what to do about it : internalist and externalist sexual ethicsIn Adrianne McEvoy (ed.), Essays in Philosophy, Rodopi. pp. 2. 2011.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 and by some contemporary philosophers.2 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 to this sex prob…Read more
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1819Philosophy 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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1339Loose Women, Lecherous Men (review)Teaching Philosophy 22 (4): 411-416. 1999.A review of Loose Women, Lecherous Men, by Linda LeMoncheck.
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1267Review of Joan McGregor, Is It Rape? (review)Law and Philosophy 25 (6): 663-672. 2006.A critical review of a book on rape by Joan McGregor.
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1122Bad 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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947The 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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406Women and Values (review)Teaching Philosophy 23 (2): 215-220. 2000.A review of the third edition of Women and Values, edited by M. Pearsall.
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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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360Eros, agape, and philia: readings in the philosophy of Love (edited book)Paragon House. 1989.The philosophy of loveFor centuries, popular writers and respected scholars have written about and analyzed the phenomenon of love without exhausting its potential for contemporary debate. By representing the three major traditions in the philosophy of love--Platonic eros, Christian agape, and Aristotelian philia--editor Alan Soble has not only examined the intellectual problem of what "love" is, but has designed a dialogue among the three traditions in genuine philosophical style. "Eros is acqu…Read more
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103The Unity of Romantic LovePhilosophy and Theology 1 (4): 374-397. 1987.Romantic love is analyzed as including concern, admiration, the desire for reciprocity, exclusivity, and the passion for union. I argue that the passion for union is its central element. An analysis of “x admires y” which recognizes the intentionality of admiration is used to explain how romantic love practices turn out to be sexist. The analysis also shows that idealization is a special case of admiration, and is therefore not an essential part of romantic love.
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72Concerning Self-LoveEssays in Philosophy 12 (1): 55-67. 2011.In The Reasons of Love, Harry Frankfurt proposes a philosophical account of love according to which there are four necessary conditions for the occurrence of love. We may ask reasonable questions about these four conditions: (1) Is each condition adequately analytically defined? (2) Is each condition plausibly a necessary condition for love, and has Frankfurt defended their necessity with good arguments? (3) Are all four conditions consistent with each other? And (4) if the four conditions are o…Read more
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63Physical Attractiveness and Unfair DiscriminationInternational Journal of Applied Philosophy 1 (1): 37-64. 1982.
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63Comments on “Good Sex on Kantian Grounds, or A Reply to Alan Soble,” or A Reply to Joshua SchulzEssays in Philosophy 8 (2): 296-300. 2007.
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57Pornography and the social sciences: Reply to Brannigan and GoldenbergSocial Epistemology 2 (2). 1988.
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53Philosophy of Sex: Contemporary ReadingsRowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2007.This book's thirty essays explore philosophically the nature and morality of sexual perversion, cybersex, masturbation, homosexuality, contraception, same-sex marriage, promiscuity, pedophilia, date rape, sexual objectification, teacher-student relationships, pornography, and prostitution. Authors include Martha Nussbaum, Thomas Nagel, Alan Goldman, John Finnis, Sallie Tisdale, Robin West, Alan Wertheimer, John Corvino, Cheshire Calhoun, Jerome Neu, and Alan Soble, among others. A valuable resou…Read more
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Areas of Specialization
Applied Ethics |
Normative Ethics |
Philosophy of Gender, Race, and Sexuality |