Homosexuality: A Philosophical Inquiry [Hardcover]

Michael Ruse (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 063115275X | ISBN-13: 978-0631152750 | Publication Date: April 1988

Writing as a philosopher, the author of this book examines homosexuality, both in history and in the present, in an attempt to understand what it is, why people have shaped certain attitudes towards it and what intellectual challenges it presents. Examined are the Freudian arguments, the empirical data from the 1970s (the Kinsey report), the issues which have arisen in the light of the AIDS epidemic and the political, legal and moral questions these issues raise. The book sets out to confront theories and explanations from all quarters, from the radically determinist to the outspokenly culturalist. The aim of the book is to provide an informed background to the many debates which surround same gender sexual attraction.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ruse, a Canadian philosopher and author of Taking Darwin Seriously, has produced a study that some will applaud for its level-headed sanity, while others will find it maddeningly noncommittal. He presents a tortuous argument that homosexuality, far from being "unnatural," may have a sound biological basis rooted in Darwinian natural selection. Freud's theory that homosexual men had rejecting fathers is defended as testable, yet he faults clinical studies and their slipshod methods. Ruse testified for the ACLU in a case against creationism, and defends the right of homosexuals to be teachers and serve in the military. Though many gays have outspokenly rejected hormonal explanations of sexual orientation, the author argues that such theories are not necessarily wrong. Nor does he reject outright the view that homosexuality is an illnessit may be tied to emotional disturbance in certain people, he suggests, until they learn to feel comfortable with their sexual identity.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Blackwell Pub (April 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 063115275X
• ISBN-13: 978-0631152750
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,565,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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