Synopses & Reviews
Pornography, abortion, rape, sexual discrimination: one merely has to open the newspaper or turn on the television to be confronted with sexual issues. In
Sexual Investigations, Alan Soble contributes to the discussion by examining the moral, political, and analytical dimensions of sexuality that form the foundation for these discussions.
In Sexual Investigations, Soble takes a rigorous yet user-friendly look at a number of topics in the area of human sexuality: the nature of sexual activity, the ethics of sexual conduct, pornography, masturbation, sexual health, perversion, date rape, prostitution, contraception, reproduction, and both the beauty and the ugliness of the sexual body. What, Soble asks, defines healthy sexuality? How firm is the distinction between rape and consensual sex? How and when are sexually explicit films and photographs degrading to women?
This sweeping examination of the philosophical, ethical, and political issues surrounding human sexuality is as learned and thoughtful as it is entertaining.
Review
"Well-researched, carefully argued, and very readable."
"This learned, witty, and often profound book robustly defends a liberal theory of sexuality, as one of life's most absorbing goods, against its ancient and modern critics on the right and left; Soble leaves no bad argument unrefuted, no bigot unscathed; he restores one's faith in the role philosophy can play in advancing public reason in matters of sex."
Synopsis
Pornography, abortion, rape, sexual discrimination: one merely has to open the newspaper or turn on the television to be confronted with sexual issues. In
Sexual Investigations, Alan Soble contributes to the discussion by examining the moral, political, and analytical dimensions of sexuality that form the foundation for these discussions.
In Sexual Investigations, Soble takes a rigorous yet user-friendly look at a number of topics in the area of human sexuality: the nature of sexual activity, the ethics of sexual conduct, pornography, masturbation, sexual health, perversion, date rape, prostitution, contraception, reproduction, and both the beauty and the ugliness of the sexual body. What, Soble asks, defines healthy sexuality? How firm is the distinction between rape and consensual sex? How and when are sexually explicit films and photographs degrading to women?
This sweeping examination of the philosophical, ethical, and political issues surrounding human sexuality is as learned and thoughtful as it is entertaining.
About the Author
Author of
The Structure of Love and Pornography, and editor of
The Philosophy of Sex and Eros, Agape and Philia, Alan Soble is Professor of Philosophy at the University of New Orleans.
Table of Contents
Ethics -- Masturbation -- Analysis -- Health -- Beauty -- Pornography.