Sex from Plato to Paglia [Two Volumes] A Philosophical Encyclopedia

Subjects:

• Philosophy » Philosophy (General)
• Psychology » Human Sexuality

Reviews:

• Editor Soble is one of the founding scholars of the relatively new field of the philosophy of sex and remains one its prominent thinkers. In this two-volume reference work of remarkable depth and range, he has assembled a notable cast of more than 150 academic contributors to produce 153 A-to-Z entries examining the conceptual, metaphysical, ethical, and historical dimensions of human sexual thought and activity. Entries average 3500 words and contain extensive references and a generous reading list....Recommended for academic and large public libraries.
  —Library Journal April 1, 2006
• This two-volume encyclopedia provides 153 entries on figures, concepts, and schools of thought in the philosophy of sex. It includes topics of current social relevance, such as acquaintance rape and genital mutilation; more purely theoretical topics; and the sexual philosophies of major and minor religions. Major thinkers in the field and those for whom sexuality was not a primary focus are both included here. Access to entries is provided through an alphabetical table of contents, name and subject indexes, a guide to related topics, and cross-referencing. Suggestions for additional reading appear at the end of entries, and there is also a selected general bibliography. Soble has a long record of publication in the field of philosophy and sex, and the specialized interdisciplinary focus of his encyclopedia will be useful to researchers who have had to make do with more general reference works....Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above.
  —Choice July 2006
• [A] highly stimulating read ... The encyclopedia is admirably clearly organized and laid out. The entries are well formulated and structured, and followed by thorough lists of references... this is a commendable piece of work that would benefit many university libraries.
  —Reference Reviews July 2006
• This resource is remarkable in that it straddles the lines between a reference work and a study companion, between scholarly and general-interest reading....[i]t integrates and presents the scholarship in such a way as to provide both a reference source and a unique compendium to the field that can easily be used as a primer, one that is destined to become a classic.
  —Reference & User Services Quarterly Winter 2006
• [A] valuable tool for the serious student of the philosophical dimensions of sex. Most entries in the encyclopedia offer reasonable and balanced discussions of such complex issues as consent, prostitution, and sex education. The references and recommended readings sections will prove invaluable to serious students of sexology.
  —PsycCritques November 2006
• This compilation of over 150 experts' articles includes such topics as abstinence, bestiality, consent, dysfunction, French feminism, Hinduism, the law, nudism, phenomenology, seduction, sexual violence and utopianism, along with explanations of the thought of such as John Boswell, Havelock Ellis, Michel Foucault, Thomas Hobbes, Gottfried Leibniz, Saint Paul, Robert Rimmer, the Marquis de Sade and Baruch Spinoza. The result is eclectic but thorough, with a wide range of figures, topics/concepts and history/schools of thought within the subject. Lest we forget the most important elements, entries also describe thought on friendship, humor, language and love.
  —Reference & Research Book News/Art Book News Annual May 2006
• The encyclopedia has 103 contributors, maily philosophers. It is synoptic, objective, and packed with further reference - a marvellous starting point for anyone interested in doing work in this field. It is difficult to imagine anyone not finding something enlightening between its pages. A book useful to a serious student and to the practical philosopher.
  —Practical Philosophy Autumn 2007
• The encyclopedia analyzes the ideas of individual thinkers such as Aristotle, Descartes, Foucault, and Freud who have had significant influence on collective attitudes and beliefs. It also analyzes the ideas developed by major religions and philosophical schools such as Buddhism and Jainism, Existenialism and Marxism. Age-old issues such as Flirting, Marriage, and Prostitution receive due consideration, as do contemporary concerns such as Cybersex: Feminism, men's; Marriage, same-sex; and Queer theory and thinkers such as Vern Bullough, Catharine MacKinnon, John Money, and Camille Paglia....Although sex may be a constant in human experience, thinking about it has been anything but. This specialized encyclopedia embraces the full range of ideas about sex, offering carefully considered information about the place philosophers have found for sex in human experience. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.
  —Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin June 2006

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Abbreviations
• Guide to Related Topics
• The Encyclopedia
• Selected General Bibliography
• Editors and Contributors
• Name Index
• Subject Index