•  70
    A theory of love and sexual desire
    Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 24 (4): 339-357. 1994.
    The experience of being in love involves a longing for union with the other, where an important part of this longing is sexual desire. But what is the relation between being in love and sexual desire? To answer this it must first be seen that the expression ‘in love’ normally refers to a personal relationship. This is because to be ‘in love’ is to want to be loved back. This much would be predicted by equity and social exchange theories of interpersonal attraction. Findings suggest however that …Read more
  •  53
    Bodily Theory and Theory of the Body
    Philosophy 66 (257). 1991.
    What is it about having a body that might dispose us to think it a plausible candidate for the basis of personal identity? The answer seems plain: the body is a physical object which, as long as it exists, is spatio-temporally continuous throughout the different moments of its existence. In consequence, myself of today can be said to be the same person as myself of twelve years ago so far as my body of today is spatio-temporally continuous with my body of twelve years ago. Exponents of this view…Read more
  •  114
    Kierkegaard and freedom (edited book)
    Palgrave. 2000.
    Kierkegaard and Freedom is a critical exploration of the ideas of Kierkegaard on the various problems surrounding the issue of human freedom. Kierkegaard's views here have been largely ignored by modern English-speaking philosophers. Through the combined efforts of eleven philosophers and scholars this book enndeavours to fill the gap by giving a clear presentation of Kierkegaard's position on such things as radical choice, autonomy, freedom and anxiety, necessity and fate, and self-deception, a…Read more
  •  61
    This book is a critical appraisal of the distinctive modern school of thought known as French existentialism. It philosophically engages the ideas of the major French existentialists, namely, Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty, Marcel, Camus, and, because of his central role in the movement, especially Sartre, in a fresh attempt to elucidate their contributions to contemporary philosophy.
  •  14
    From inwardness to emptiness: Kierkegaard and yogācāra buddhism
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy 9 (2): 311-340. 2001.
  •  8
    Kierkegaard and Japanese thought (edited book)
    Palgrave-Macmillan. 2008.
    The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is an enigmatic thinker whose works call out for interpretation. One of the most fascinating strands of this interpretation is in terms of Japanese thought. Kierkegaard himself knew nothing of Japanese philosophy, yet the links between his own ideas and Japanese philosophers are remarkable.. This book examines Kierkegaard in terms of Shinto, Pure Land Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, the Samurai, the famous Kyoto school of Japanese philosophers, and in terms…Read more
  •  15
    Sexuality is a basic feature of human life. Gender, sexual and romantic attraction, sexual excitement, and sexual desire and fantasies all move in various degrees through our daily awareness. However, despite this pervasiveness, there is much disagreement surrounding the nature of such things and experiences. This book explores just these issues in an attempt to get clear about this enigmatic aspect of our existence. Through a series of interrelated essays, internationally acclaimed philosopher …Read more
  •  10
    This book explores ancient Daoist philosophy and argues against interpretations that paint the early Daoist philosophers as mystics or cosmologists. It claims that Dao is best understood as awareness and that Daoist concerns are primarily with the nature of human experience, meditation, and our relation to the world. The Dao of Awareness starts by placing Daoist philosophy within the context of ancient Chinese thought. It then proceeds by critically engaging each of the major Daoist thinkers, wo…Read more
  • Darwin versus Kierkegaard at 200
    Søren Kierkegaard Newsletter 61 8-12. 2013.
    Those with a keen sense of the history of ideas will have noticed that just a few years before Kierkegaard’s 200th birthday was Darwin’s 200th birthday. Those with an even keener perception will have also seen the significance of the relation between these two bi-centenaries For Kierkegaard’s writings were a reaction to Darwin or, more broadly put, to the spirit of the times of which Darwin was the pinnacle. Both Darwin and Kierkegaard lived when it was becoming obvious that the claims of the Bi…Read more
  • Relevance of the no-self theory in contemporary mindfulness
    Current Opinion in Psychology 28 298-301. 2019.
    The ideas of mindfulness and no-self are intimately connected in Buddhist philosophy. This is because, in Buddhist Philosophy, the practice of mindfulness leads to the realization that there is no self. In contemporary mindfulness in psychology, the no-self theory has not played such a basic role. An outline of Buddhist philosophy is given showing how the ‘root delusion’ of having a self lies at the base of human suffering and how mindfulness, when appropriately deployed, enables one to free one…Read more
  •  38
    The Metaphysics of Awareness in the Philosophy of Laozi
    International Philosophical Quarterly 53 (4): 435-451. 2013.
    This paper shows that a careful reading of Laozi’s The Way and Its Power enables one to come up with a metaphysics of awareness. This is done by rejecting those accounts that paint Laozi as a mystic or cosmologist and by arguing for the human-centeredness of his approach. It is shown that three central ideas in Laozi’s work can all be understood as referring to properties of awareness. These three ideas are the Way , return , and non-action . The “Way” refers to awareness itself, “return” refers…Read more
  •  29
    Kierkegaard on Faith and Love (review)
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy 19 (5): 1004-1008. 2011.
  •  30
    Review of 'Kierkegaard on Faith and Love' by Sharon Krishek (review)
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy 19 (5): 1004-1008. 2011.
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy, Volume 19, Issue 5, Page 1004-1008, September 2011
  •  36
    Hakuin, Scepticism, and Seeing into One’s Own Nature
    Asian Philosophy 25 (1): 81-98. 2015.
    One of the most significant figures in the history of Japanese philosophy is the Zen master Hakuin. Yet, in the West, little attempt has been made to present and evaluate his thought in a way that would make it accessible to Western philosophers. This article attempts to redress this neglect. Here, it is shown how Hakuin uses kōan meditation to create ‘the great doubt’ or scepticism concerning the self. Hakuin’s method shares elements in common with both ancient Greek scepticism and Descartes. K…Read more
  •  65
    From inwardness to emptiness: Kierkegaard and Yogacara Buddhism
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy 9 (2). 2001.
    For Kierkegaard, inwardness is a focusing on one’s own existence. Inwardness is therefore concerned with one’s relations to objects rather than with the objects themselves. This means that within the realm of inwardness objective truth loses importance. For here, the question of the truth of one’s beliefs will not be determined by the existence of the object of one’s belief, but rather by the way in which one holds belief about it. Consequently, says Kierkegaard, ‘as long as this relationship is…Read more
  •  31
    A Reply to Antony Flew
    Philosophy 69 (267). 1994.
  •  1200
    The no-self theory: Hume, Buddhism, and personal identity
    Philosophy East and West 43 (2): 175-200. 1993.
    The problem of personal identity is often said to be one of accounting for what it is that gives persons their identity over time. However, once the problem has been construed in these terms, it is plain that too much has already been assumed. For what has been assumed is just that persons do have an identity. A new interpretation of Hume's no-self theory is put forward by arguing for an eliminative rather than a reductive view of personal identity, and by approaching the problem in terms of p…Read more
  •  127
    Sex hormones and sexual desire
    Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 38 (1). 2008.
    Some scholars attempt to explain sexual desire biologically by claiming that sex hormones play a necessary causal role in sexual desire. This can be claimed even if sexual desire is seen to be an experience. Yet the evidence for such biological essentialism is inadequate. With males the loss of sexual desire following hormonal changes can easily be explained in terms of social stigmas that are attached to the physiological situation. Concerning females, the relevance of sex hormones here is even…Read more
  •  182
    Social constructionism and sexual desire
    Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 36 (3). 2006.
    Various scholars argue that sexual desire is socially constructed. There is, however, little agreement surrounding the nature of social constructionism. Vance contrasts social constructionism here with a cultural influence model and distinguishes between degrees of social constructionism. There are, however, problems with this classification. These problems can similarly be found with Foucault whose arguments fail to support his claim that sexual desire is a social construction. Difficulties als…Read more
  •  186
    A theory of love and sexual desire
    Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 24 (4). 1994.
    The experience of being in love involves a longing for union with the other, where an important part of this longing is sexual desire. But what is the relation between being in love and sexual desire? To answer this it must first be seen that the expression ‘in love’ normally refers to a personal relationship. This is because to be ‘in love’ is to want to be loved back. This much would be predicted by equity and social exchange theories of interpersonal attraction. Findings suggest however that …Read more
  •  37
    A Study in Phenomenalism
    Aalborg University. 1994.
    Phenomenalism is a philosophical theory of perception involving the idea that statements about material objects can be explained in terms of statements about actual and possible sense experiences. In this study James Giles explores the development of phenomenalism through the works of Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and others. He shows how problems occur for phenomenalists precisely at the point where they abandon their empiricism. Holding to empiricism, Giles then presents his own version of phenomenal…Read more
  •  76
    The Nature of Sexual Desire
    University Press of America. 2008.
    The Nature of Sexual Desire takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the psychology, philosophy, and anthropology of this most urgent of human desires. Examining both ancient writings and modern research, both Eastern and Western thought, the author argues that sexual desire is a continuous element in awareness and can only be understood in terms of our experience. The experience of sexual desire is explored and its relation to sexual interaction, erotic pleasure, the experience of gend…Read more
  •  65
    Naked Love: The Evolution of Human Hairlessness
    Biological Theory 5 (4): 326-336. 2010.
    All primates except human beings have thick coats of body hair. This suggests the primate ancestors of human beings likewise had such body hair and that, for some evolutionary reason, lost their body hair. Various theories have been put forward but none is fully adequate. This article presents the “naked love theory.” This theory locates the origin of human hairlessness in the ancestral mother—infant relationship. In this view, hairlessness is ultimately the adaptive consequence of bipedalism. B…Read more
  •  109
    No Self to be Found: The Search for Personal Identity
    University Press of America. 1997.
    This book is a exploration of the notion of personal identity. Here it is shown how the various attempts to give an account of personal identity are all based on false assumptions and so inevitably run aground. One of the first Western thinkers to realize this was David Hume, the 18th century empiricist philosopher who argued that self was a fiction. A new interpretation of Hume's no-self theory is put forward by arguing for an eliminative rather than a reductive point of view of personal identi…Read more
  • Adult Baby Syndrome and Age Identity Disorder: Comment on Kise and Nguyen (2011)
    Archives of Sexual Behavior 41 (2): 321-322. 2012.
    In Kise and Ngyuen’s “Adult Baby Syndrome and Gender Identity Disorder” (2011), the authors refer to their male subject as “Ms B” because he prefers to identify with being a female. But they do not refer to her as being a baby, even though the subject also prefers to identify with being a baby. This shows that although they respect the subject’s gender identity preferences, they do not respect the subject’s age identity preferences. One reason for this might be that some people feel the term “ad…Read more
  •  14
    This book gives an account of the experience of sexual attraction. Despite its vital role in daily life, it is something that scholars have all but completely ignored. Various factors surrounding this experience have been studied, even in depth, but the experience itself remains an uncharted region of human life. In this book it is argued that the essence of sexual attraction is the experience of allure, namely, a sense of being helplessly drawn to the attractive person that involves a sexual fa…Read more