Philosophy of Sex and Love An Opinionated Introduction

Writing for non-specialists and students as well as for fellow philosophers, this book explores some basic issues surrounding sex and love in today's world, among them consent, objectification, non-monogamy, racial stereotyping, and the need to reconcile contemporary expectations about gender equality with our beliefs about how love works. Author Patricia Marino argues that we cannot fully understand these issues by focusing only on individual desires and choices. Instead, we need to examine the social contexts within which choices are made and acquire their meanings. That perspective, she argues, is especially needed today, when the values of individualism, self-expression, and self-interest permeate our lives. Marino asks how we can fit these values, which govern so many areas of contemporary life, with the generosity, caring, and selflessness we expect in love and sex. Key Features of Philosophy of Sex and Love: An Opinionated Introduction Offers a contemporary, problems-based approach to the subject, helping readers better understand and address current issues and controversial questions Includes coverage of sex and love as they intersect with topics like disability, race, medicine, and economics Considers not only the ethical, but also the broadly social and political dimensions of sex and love Includes a helpful introduction and conclusion in each chapter and is written throughout in a clear and straightforward style, with examples and signposts to help guide the student and general reader A comprehensive and up-to-date bibliography provides a valuable tool for anyone’s further research

Dedication Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1. Sex, respect, and objectification Introduction Sex as inherently objectifying: the view of Immanuel Kant Feminist theories of objectification Nussbaum on the varying aspects of objectification Challenges for Nussbaum's theory Conclusion Chapter 2: Objectification, autonomy, and pornography Introduction Objectification and social autonomy Social autonomy and adaptive preferences A social perspective on pornography The "pornutopia" and pornography's falsity Beyond the heterosexual context Context Chapter 3: Consent and rape law Introduction A short history of the law of consent "'No' means no" Communicative sexuality and nonverbal consent The Antioch Policy and verbal consent Affirmative consent, sexual autonomy, and the law Conclusion Chapter 4 Sex work Introduction Sex work and the law Sex work as a free contractual exchangeSex work, commodification, and the specialness of sex Commercialized sex in context Sexual surrogacyConclusion Chapter 5: Union theories of love Introduction Why a theory of love?The union theory and its difficultiesThe relationship of self and "we"The "we" as a merger of ends and desires Love and irrationalityConclusion Chapter 6: Concern theories of love Introduction Love as caring concern Disinterestedness and reciprocityLove and autonomy in the union and concern theories Love, autonomy, and deference Love and rationality revisited: appraisal and bestowal Limitless care and the problem of paternalism Conclusion Chapter 7: Love, fairness, and equality Introduction Union theories and balancingConcern theories and deliberation Equality and fairnessWhy a theory of love, revisited Conclusion Chapter 8: Orientations of sex and love Introduction Concepts, terminology, and historyThe "born that way" and "not a choice" arguments: conceptual complexities The "born that way" and "not a choice" arguments: ethical and political complexities Orientations and values of sex and love Conclusion Chapter 9: Love and marriage Introduction The nature of marriageIs marriage a promise? Gender and the institution of marriage Is marriage bad for love?Conclusion Chapter 10: Sex, love, and race Introduction Race in cultural context Some problems with racialized preferences Further evaluation: causes and consequences of racialized preferences Marriage and racial solidarity Conclusion Chapter 11: Sex, love, and disability Introduction Disability in contextPhysical disabilities and sexual surrogacy Surrogacy, intimacy, and love Intellectual disabilities and complexities of consent Conclusion Chapter 12: The medicalization of sex and love Introduction Medicalization and the "Viagra narrative"The social control of women's sexuality Recent scientific study of women's sexuality Nonconcordance and the interpretation of desire Lack of desire and eagerness versus enjoying Medicalization of love?Conclusion Chapter 13: The economics of sex and love Introduction Economics and love: what is the problem?Altruism and the possibility of "self-interested" love Economics and sexSex, love, and economic methodologyConclusion Chapter 14. Ethical nonmonogamy Introduction What is ethical nonmonogamy? The values of ethical nonmonogamy The "paradox of prevalence" and changing the law Challenges for ethical nonmonogamy Conclusion References Index

Patricia Marino is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo in Canada, where, in addition to philosophy of sex and love, she works in ethics, epistemology, and philosophy of economics. She served as co-president of the Society for the Philosophy of Sex and Love from 2008 to 2018, and is the author of Moral Reasoning in a Pluralistic World (2015).