Sexual Desire: A Philosophical Investigation (also published as Sexual Desire: A Moral Philosophy of the Erotic) is a 1986 book about the philosophy of sex by Roger Scruton, who argues that sex is morally permissible only if it involves love and intimacy. Sexual Desire, which has received both praise and criticism from reviewers, has been seen as one of the most important works in the philosophy of sex.
Summary
Scruton, influenced by the work of the philosophers Immanuel Kant and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, attempts to develop a conservative sexual ethic. Citing The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), he summarizes Hegel as arguing that, "The final end of every rational being is the building of the self—of a recognisable personal entity, which flourishes according to its own autonomous nature, in a world which it partly creates." This process involves recognizing the other as an end in himself or herself.
Sexual desire is a motivational state and an interest in “sexual objects or activities, or as a wish, need, or drive to seek out sexual objects or to engage in sexual activities”. Synonyms for sexual desire are libido, sexual attraction, and lust. Sexual desire is an aspect of a person's sexuality, which varies significantly from one person to another, and also varies depending on circumstances at a particular time.
Sexual desire may be the “single most common sexual event in the lives of men and women”. Sexual desire is a subjective feeling state that can “be triggered by both internal and external cues, and that may or may not result in overt sexual behavior”.
Sexual desire can be aroused through imagination and sexual fantasies, or perceiving an individual who one finds attractive. Sexual desire is also created and amplified through sexual tension, which is caused by sexual desire that has yet to be consummated.
Sexual desire can be spontaneous or responsive. Sexual desire is dynamic, can either be positive or negative, and can vary in intensity depending on the desired object/person. The sexual desire spectrum is described by Stephen B. Levine as: aversion -->disinclination -->indifference -->interest -->need --> passion.
Queer women's history is often excluded from the history books, so these crumbs offer us a way to find out how people engaged with their sexuality and desire despite what official institutions proclaimed.
Almost a century ago, a pioneering American sex researcher named Katharine Bement Davis challenged the prevailing view that respectable women did not – and should not – experience sexual desire or have sex, except to please men or to have children.
The series had been eagerly awaited, but nothing like as eagerly as the book itself ...Women were recognised as being politically and economically and sexually active.” In her latest book, Normal Women.
... images and statues, and he equipped them with the books of Elephantis so that for the performance of sexual deeds an example of a desired sex position might be available for anyone.”.
Hers is not the only book currently exploring women's sexual desires ... She cites the largest survey of sexual desires ever in the US, by social psychologist Dr Justin J ... In a survey of sexual desires ...
As I turn page after page of women’s unfiltered sexual desires, I feel I’m entering a time machine that’s propelling me back to the early 1970s when Nancy Friday’s sensational book landed on my desk ...
The actress, 56, laughed and joked with the audience at the book event as she took to the stage to promote her latest project - a volume of anonymous female correspondence about sexual desire.
Women are still seen as less sexual than men, but this book attests to a vivid imaginative hinterland, where the desires are far more inventive than the “Milf” and “cheerleader” tropes that dominate man-made porn.
ActorGillian Anderson has collected anonymous women’s deepest sexual desires for a new book ... I was curious to know how women’s deepest desires had changed in the 50 years since the book was published.
That, in fact, she really had never considered her own sexual needs or desires and didn’t know how to be “sexy.” When I asked her if she had noticed any times when her sexual interest was piqued, she quickly answered.
The public responded to O’Brien’s alleged sins – writing female characters who possessed sexual desire, criticising the Catholic mores of 1950sIreland, taking the first steps of Ireland’s eventual retreat from Rome – with venom.
"I try to investigate his character as a young man, perplexed by his desire and sexual orientation, which was forbidden by society of his time, ignored by the historians, misled by writers in books ...
Diedrick, who is scheduled to receive her certification from the Institute for SexualityEducation & Enlightenment on August 1, selects the books ... "I call it the sex ed you always deserved," book club member Ellie Masson said.
She is the author of numerous works of poetry and prose, in which she examines questions of desire, sexuality and family, often in a fragmentary, genre-blurring style. Her books include The Art of Cruelty.
They credit discussing their sexual desires with each other as saving them from suicide ... as a 'nauseating', but 'more palatable alternative to the couple acting out their desires on real children'.
