Pornography, the Theory: What Utilitarianism Did to Action [Hardcover]

Frances Ferguson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226243206 | ISBN-13: 978-0226243207 | Publication Date: April 25, 2004 | Edition: 1

Pornography first developed in western Europe during the late eighteenth century in tandem with the rise of utilitarianism, the philosophical position that stresses the importance of something's usefulness over its essence. Through incisive readings of Sade, Flaubert, Lawrence, and Bret Easton Ellis, Frances Ferguson here shows how pornography—like utilitarian social structures—diverts our attention from individual identities to actions and renders more clearly the social value of such actions through concrete literary representations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The contribution [Ferguson] makes to the understanding of human actions and the social structure in which they occur makes this well worth reading."

(Samantha Brennan Victorian Studies )

“In this profoundly original study, Frances Ferguson persuasively makes the startling claim that modern pornography can best be understood by its analogies to utilitarian social structures. Maintaining that we miss the essence of pornography when we isolate and emphasize its sexual content, Ferguson asks us to consider pornography as a scheme that—like the social organization promoted by Bentham’s utilitarianism—would produce unequivocal hierarchical evaluations of the individuals belonging to particular groups. This exciting and brilliantly argued book will be widely read and passionately debated.”The Culture of Redemption

(Leo Bersani, author of The Culture of Redemption )

“This is not a study of pornography as such, but a deeply thoughtful meditation on an entire range of modern practices that conceptualize individuals in terms of their actions or use. Ferguson relentlessly unveils modern utilitarianism and persuasively demonstrates why appeals to belief are ineffective in a society ruled by this Benthamite calculus. This provocative study will generate controversy, as has the pornography debate, but, unlike the debate itself, Ferguson’s book is consistently illuminating and rewarding.”A History of the Modern Fact

(Mary Poovey, author of A History of the Modern Fact )

"As a post-Foucauldian reconceptualization of utilitarianism, social organization, power distribution, and the conditions of equality, [the book] makes an original contribution to the fields of the history of sexuality, pornography studies, and studies in the novel but also, perhaps, to political theory."

(Michelle Chilcoat Journal of the History of Sexuality )

From the Inside Flap

Pornography first developed in western Europe during the late eighteenth century in tandem with the rise of utilitarianism, the philosophical position that stresses the importance of something's usefulness over its essence. Through incisive readings of Sade, Flaubert, Lawrence, and Bret Easton Ellis, Frances Ferguson here shows how pornography—like utilitarian social structures—diverts our attention from individual identities to actions and renders more clearly the social value of such actions through concrete literary representations.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (April 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226243206
• ISBN-13: 978-0226243207
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,008,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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