Homosexuality and American Public Life [Paperback]

Christopher Wolfe (Editor), William Kristol (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 17, 1999

Not content merely to restate the traditional moral position, the contributors address the homosexual movement's most compelling arguments with both sympathy and a relentless commitment to the truth. These essays originated at a 1997 conference of the American Public Philosophy Institute. Experts of unsurpassed prestige probe the common assertions that homosexuality is genetically or biologically determined and that citizens' homosexual behavior should be exempt from social or legal censure.

Part One of the book, devoted to the scientific and medical aspects of homosexuality, features a comprehensive examination of the putative biological origins of same-sex attraction, a survey of its psychological roots, and a provocative discussion of the disastrous results of identifying AIDS as a "gay disease." Part Two contains an analysis of natural law arguments about the morality of homosexual acts. Part Three deals with the attitude of law and public policy toward homosexuality.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A counter-offensive against the gay rights movement, offering 11 papers from a June 1997 conference sponsored by the American Public Philosophy Institute in Washington, DC. They challenge assertions that homosexuality is genetically or biologically determined and that homosexual behavior should be exempt from social or legal censure. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. -- From Booknews

About the Author

Christopher Wolfe is a professor of political science at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the president of the American Public Philosophy Institute. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University if Notre Dame and a Ph.D. from Boston College. Noted for his scholarship in the field of constitutional law, Dr. Wolfe is the author of he Rise of Modern Judicial Review: From Constitutional Interpretation to Judge Made Law. His current work is in the are of liberal political theory and legal philosophy. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Spence Publishing Company; 1st edition (December 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890626236
• ISBN-13: 978-1890626235
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,852,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful response to the controversy, May 11, 2000

By 

S. D. Thomas (PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Homosexuality and American Public Life (Paperback)

Many in American society today struggle with issues involving sexuality, and sadly reap the whirlwind of their choices. The homosexual population (including our own friends and family members) unfortunately involves an aggressive element, one more concerned with license than liberty, and with generating heat rather than light. With this preamble, -Homosexuality and American Public Life- enters the debate and seeks to restore a rightful understanding of human sexuality, one more easily grasped by the common man just a few generations ago.

Because of limited space, I'll restrict my comments to the moral and legal sections of the book. In Part II, Moral Norms, Robert George deals with the ideas of neutrality (which turns out to be not-so-neutral after all) and the naturally-derived definition of marriage as a "one-flesh communion" of persons unique and uniquely important in our experience. He goes on to articulate the assumption of a controversial philosophical dualism within the homosexual position that necessarily intrumentalizes the body, and therefore the person.

Part III on the legal aspects of the controversy was actually the most interesting to me, partly because I was unfamiliar with the authors (except for Arkes), who are certainly notable in their own right, but mostly because of the substantial arguments they marshal in defense of traditional marriage. I thought that some of this material might have been incorporated into the rather short (two chapter) section on Moral Norms. In III, Hadley Arkes serves up the reasoning behind the Defense of Marriage Act, articulating well the flaw inherent to the notion of "homosexual marriage": namely, that it cannot help but render marriage as a relatively meaningless and socially constructed convention, one open to nearly any relationship (e.g., polygamy) imaginable.

Philosopher Michael Pakaluk brings a welcome addition with his arguments about homosexuality and its effects on the Common Good; He asks, exactly what harms can we expect if the homosexual movement is afforded the acceptance it desires? Pakaluk notes Arkes' point above, but then turns to another concern that often goes unmentioned: the moral relationship between parents and children. Severing the institution of marriage from its procreative aspects constitutes not an extension to marriage, but rather a radical redefinition thereof. Indeed, it represents the loss of an institution (or at least the societal recognition or understanding of such) connecting parents to their biological children. If there is any difficulty in seeing the implications of this disconnect (or even believing that such implications are worth considering), it is only because we have already lost a great deal in terms of understanding parental duty and the nurturing of our children. This is an important and often neglected aspect of the debate - one that deserves greater attention.

Finally, David Coolidge opens with a useful catalog of marriage models: Commitment ("radical but appealing"), Choice ("just plain radical"), and Complementarity (traditional). He argues that the Commitment model embraced in the public sphere by homosexual advocates degenerates, in practice and in principle, to the Choice model. He addresses a number of arguments for and against traditional marriage, and fills his commentary with many gems worth holding onto; for example, "We question the view that sexual desires are the key to identifying one's sexual identity. We question the view that 'sexual orientation' is as significant as being male or female." He writes with superb common sense, the kind of sense missing in many moral discussions today.

This is a book written, I think, with some reluctance, but out of a greater measure of duty to loved ones within the homosexual movement, to those who might be involved without such argumentation, and to all of us who need to reclaim an understanding of human nature - the same nature providing a ground for the rights we cherish. Many will object vehemently to the content of this volume, but if they do, I challenge them to do so with reasoned arguments, and without heated and divisive language aimed at ending the debate before it can begin. For a more complete study, I recommend coupling this book with Beckwith and Koukl's -Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air- and the essays of Harry V. Jaffa of the Claremont Institute. ....

28 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The politically incorrect side of the question..., August 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Homosexuality and American Public Life (Hardcover)

I found this book to be fair, scholarly, and very interesting as deals with homosexuality and the public life of our culture. I wrote--" This work is an exemplary gathering of scholarship to discuss and debate the facts as concerns a controversial yet 'in' subject--homosexuality." This is from my review at The CRITICAL REVIEW, an AMAZON Associate.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Science over propaganda, December 7, 2009

By 

Tall Trees "Tall Trees" (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Homosexuality and American Public Life (Paperback)

Those who wish to see science supporting homosexuality's claims of innate character will undoubedtly attack this material. Resorting to the usual ad homenin arguments lacking any coherent argumentation but filled with emotionalism. This book is well written and presented with scholarly works to support claims made by the authors, unlike some science work that starts with a premise assumed then set out to locate support for the premise. Science is supposed to be science, objective and authentic in its research methods without which it is just popular experimentation. This book supplies the reader with information for an informed decision concerning the debates on the topic and leaves off the emotionalism so rampant in the controversy of the day. Well done!