Cover of Sexual Desire: A Philosophical Investigation

Sexual Desire: A Philosophical Investigation

by Roger Scruton · 1986

+ Want to read

A dazzling treatise, as erudite and eloquent as Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex and considerably more sound in its conclusion - TLS

Read more

"He is an eloquent and practised writer" - The Independent (UK)

When John desires Mary or Mary desires John, what does either of them want? What is meant by innocence, passion, love and arousal, desire, perversion and shame? These are just a few of the questions Roger Scruton addresses in this thought-provoking intellectual adventure. Beginning from purely philosophical premises, and ranging over human life, art and institutions, he surveys the entire field of sexuality; equally dissatisfied with puritanism and permissiveness, he argues for a radical break with recent theories. Upholding traditional morality - though in terms that may shock many of its practitioners - his argument gravitates to that which is candid, serene and consoling in the experience of sexual love.

Subject
philosophyphilosophyMore like thisLess of thishistoryhistoryMore like thisLess of thissciencescienceMore like thisLess of this
Themes
sexualitysexualityMore like thisLess of thismoralitymoralityMore like thisLess of thisphilosophyphilosophyMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
long · 448 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

BuyAmazonGoogle Books

BorrowOpen LibraryA library near you

MoreCompare pricesHardcover

Liked Sexual Desire: A Philosophical Investigation? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Sexual Desire: A Philosophical Investigation. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Spinoza's Ethics: An Introduction Steven Nadler · 2006 Shares philosophy, ethics, nonfiction
  2. Lust Simon Blackburn · 2003 Shares philosophy, sexuality, sex
  3. Sex, Art, and American Culture: Essays Camille Paglia · 1992 Shares philosophy, nonfiction, sexuality
  4. Ultimate Questions Bryan Magee · 2016 Shares philosophy, ethics, nonfiction
See more recommendations →

“People who read Sexual Desire: A Philosophical Investigation tend to reach for these next.”

  1. To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility Jonathan Sacks · 2005
  2. Romancing Opiates: Pharmacological Lies and the Addiction Bureaucracy Theodore Dalrymple · 2006
  3. Sex and Reason Richard A. Posner · 1992
  4. Counterfactuals David Kellogg Lewis · 1973

“If you want more of the same (philosophy about sexuality), start with these.”

  1. The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics Martha C. Nussbaum · 1994
  2. The History of Sexuality, Volume 2: The Use of Pleasure Michel Foucault · 1984
  3. The History of Sexuality, Volume 3: The Care of the Self Michel Foucault · 1984
  4. Universally Preferable Behaviour: A Rational Proof of Secular Ethics Stefan Molyneux · 2007

“If it was the ethics that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. What Would Socrates Say? Alexander George · 2007
  2. Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals Iris Murdoch · 1992
  3. Reasons and Persons Derek Parfit · 1984
  4. Free onlineFree An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals David Hume · 1751

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Love and Responsibility John Paul II · 1960
  2. A Taste of Honey Habeeb Akande
  3. 25,000 Years of Erotic Freedom Alan Moore · 2009
  4. The Erotic Mind: Unlocking the Inner Sources of Passion and Fulfillment Jack Morin · 1995

Report a problem