Description
Sex, Love, and Gender is the first volume to present a comprehensive philosophical theory that brings together all of Kant's practical philosophy -- found across his works on ethics, justice, anthropology, history, and religion -- and provide a critique of emotionally healthy and morally permissible sexual, loving, gendered being. By rethinking Kant's work on human nature and making space for sex, love, and gender within his moral accounts of freedom, the book shows how, despite his austere and even anti-sex, cisist, sexist, and heterosexist reputation, Kant's writings on happiness and virtue (Part I) and right (Part II) in fact yield fertile philosophical ground on which we can explore specific contemporary issues such as abortion, sexual orientation, sexual or gendered identity, marriage, trade in sexual services, and sex- or gender-based oppression. Indeed, Kant's philosophy provides us with resources to appreciate and value the diversity of human ways of loving and the existential importance of our embodied, social selves. Structured on a thematic basis, with introductions to assist those new to Kant's philosophy, this book will be a valuable resource for anyone who cares about these issues and wants to make sense of them.
About the Author
Helga Varden is a professor in philosophy and in gender and women studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has published on a range of classical philosophical issues-- including Kant's answer to the murderer at the door, private property, political obligations, and political legitimacy-as well as on applied issues such as terrorism, poverty, and non-human animals. With a particular interest in Kant's contributions both to the philosophical canon and to contemporary issues, Varden is one of the few Kant scholars to have brought Kant's ideas to bear also on core issues in feminist philosophy as well as in the philosophy of sex and love, including abortion and same-sex marriage.
Reviews
Sex, Love, and Gender ... offers a non-apologetic analysis of Kant's sexist ideas that does not preclude a reconstruction of a Kantian vision of the human sexual and loving nature that is philosophically opened to the realities of polyamorous, polysexual, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, trans, and in general LGBTQIA+ people's lives ... it dismantles a narrative and dislocates mainstream readings of Kantian ethics and politics (apologetic and critical alike) with an outstanding exegetical work ... it also shows who an exclusionary comprehension of gender, sex, and love is plainly wrong even by traditional philosophical standards ... This is a book by someone who takes seriously that we, as embodied social beings, get harmed and do harm, that we are not more innocent than we are guilty ... It is a book that does not assume the innocent position, and neither does it assume a missionary one. * Macarena Marey, Studi Kantiani *
Varden develops an inclusive theory of sex, love, and gender -- a theory based on a deep, creative exposition of Immanuel Kant's writing that overcomes the philosophical mistakes and limitations of Kant's work on these issues. * J. A. Kegley, CHOICE *
This book draws on Kant's philosophy to construct a compelling philosophical account of sex, love, and gender that speaks to the lives of heterosexual, polysexual, polyamorous people, as well as those belonging to the LGBTQIA community. What makes Varden's project unique is her sensitivity to sexual diversity, as well as her acknowledgement of the fact that we are rational, yet also embodied, social beings... Varden thoroughly engages with the existing Kantian literature and overcomes much of what has created puzzlement, scorn, and even a total abandonment of Kant's views, especially by feminist philosophers. * Lina Papadaki, Con-Textos Kantianos *
Sex, Love, and Gender is an ambitious work. . . . [its] major contribution is that it addresses much neglected subjects in the literature on Kant's practical philosophy, while making the case to non-Kantians that the Kantian tradition has something important to contribute to contemporary discourse on sex, love, and gender. . . . We can all look forward to the rich discourse Varden's book will undoubtedly inspire. * Melissa Seymour Fahmy, Mind *
Helga Varden's Sex, Love, and Gender: A Kantian Theory is an extraordinarily ambitious, systematic account of sexual love, sexual and gender identity, and sexual orientation viewed through a Kantian lens. . . . what Varden has given us here is nothing short of a radically new, cohesive, and wide-reaching encapsulation of Kant's entire theory of human nature, one that stands to upend (and ultimately rectify) more than a half-century of mistaken interpretations of Kant's views. * Carol Hay, SGIR Review *
a bold first attempt to bring Kant's theory to bear on issues surrounding sex, love, and gender. But to my mind, it makes an equally valuable contribution to the movement in Kant scholarship to uncover and develop the rich and nuanced account of human nature embedded within his moral theory. * Janelle DeWitt, SGIR Review *
sweeping, challenging, and imaginative' * Jennifer Ryan Lockhart, SGIR Review *
In this impressive monograph, Helga Varden collects and builds on years of work to generate a systematic, feminist and inclusive theory of sex, love and gender grounded in Kant's philosophy. . . . Sex, Love, and Gender is, in equal measure, a well-organized and thought provoking book. . . . While her theory of sex, love and gender cannot erase Kant's sexist or homophobic assumptions, it brilliantly uses some of the finest resources of Kantian philosophy to come to a new understanding of a fundamental aspect of human life. * Charlotte Sabourin, Kantian Review *
This groundbreaking book is quite simply a tour de force. Even Kant's defenders don't expect him to be a fruitful source of theorizing about gender, sexuality and sex, but Varden presents an impressively systematic and deep theory which synthesizes resources from his moral, political, legal and anthropological writings to give a rich account of our embodied, social human nature, the role in our lives of good sex, an analysis of sexual oppression and violence, and an important account on the role of the law and justice in relation to these. Clearly written, accessible, and avoiding jargon wherever possible, it will be a landmark in the literature for years to come. * Lucy Allais, University of California, San Diego *
Sex, Love, and Gender offers a unified philosophical theory of human nature, freedom, and political right that is at once ardently feminist and genuinely Kantian. Helga Varden brings out of Kant's philosophy a theory of human nature that explains our deepest needs and desires, and why sexual violence, gender oppression, and denial of full recognition of our sexual and gender identities are so deeply hurtful and wrong. Professor Varden applies these theories to controversial philosophical issues surrounding sex and gender, including pornography, sex work, and abortion, and derives powerful and novel arguments. This magnificent book will be widely read and influential in both Kant scholarship and feminist philosophy. * Ann E. Cudd, University of Pittsburgh *
This book combines an impressively detailed and systematic exposition of Kant's practical philosophy, which forms the backbone of the argument, with analysis of a range of positions in law, anthropology, and social and political theory. Varden makes a powerful case for reading texts from the history of philosophy in light of present and urgent concerns. She combines originality, scholarship, and a quality not often found and rarely sought in philosophical arguments -- passion. The book's compassionate advocacy of embodied social human nature makes this Kantian theory of sex, love, and gender nothing less than a theory of the human good. * Katerina Deligiorgi, University of Sussex *
With her signature wit and grace, Varden cuts through centuries of interpretative blind spots, demonstrating how to read a canonical figure such as Kant critically yet charitably...She shows how it's possible take Kant on his own terms while simultaneously making his work relevant to important contemporary issues...Sex, Love, and Gender is the book we need. It's the book that feminist and LGBTQIA scholars need to finally, definitively convince Kantian scholars that there are pressing issues of justice that need to be taken seriously. And it's the book Kantians need to show these same anti-oppression scholars what it looks like when we start using the master's tools to dismantle the master's house. * Carol Hay, University of Massachusetts, Lowell *
[This] book is...a tour de force, a love letter, a dive into Kant's writings that somehow manages to be equally broad and deep...[I]magine the discipline of philosophy looking at Varden ... dar[ing her] to come up with a comprehensive theory of sex, love, and gender...ground[ed]...in the thinking of the figure who is most often trotted out to exemplify just how bad philosophical theories of sex, love, and gender can be...[Varden's response is] this book, which...[is] both meticulous and sprawling, audacious and careful, passionate in equal measure about the contours of a flourishing human life...I remain deeply grateful for the way Varden models for all of us a way of being a philosopher that is guided by the twin lodestars of passion and integrity, a way of being that this book exemplifies beautifully. * Ann J. Cahill, Elon University *
Helga Varden's Sex, Love, and Gender...is a rigorous, beautiful, and transformative book, which does vital work not only in fully developing how Kant's complex understandings of desire, reflection, and relationality should inform our understanding of his arguments about sex and love but also in positioning these Kantian arguments as absolutely critical resources to contemporary debates about gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexual (in)justice...this book absolutely revolutionizes the kinds of questions we can ask about Kant on sex, love, and gender...Varden's book articulates my own sense of Kant scholarship as a gateway into feminist philosophy, as a rare space in mainstream philosophical scholarship that passes, if you will, a kind of philosophical Bechdel test. * Jordan Pascoe, Manhattan College *
Sex, Love, and Gender is a sweeping and systematic tour de force - an account of our sexual and gendered human nature, grounded in Kantian theory, that is courageously comprehensive in scope, carefully rigorous in its attention to the details of Kantian philosophy, and refreshingly forthright in its author's unwillingness to be limited by Kant's own failings...it [is] what historically informed philosophy can be at its very best: a direct and engaging conversation across centuries, which strives to leave the limits of each cultural context not by abandoning them, but by acknowledging and engaging them and, in doing so, inviting us to reflect on the limits of our own...as refreshing as her consistent nimbleness of argument and seemingly encyclopedic grasp of Kant's moral-political oeuvre found throughout this book. * Alice MacLachlan, York University *
[This] book is ... a tour de force, a love letter, a dive into Kant's writings that somehow manages to be equally broad and deep... [I]magine the discipline of philosophy looking at Varden... dar[ing her] to come up with a comprehensive theory of sex, love, and gender ... ground[ed]...in the thinking of the figure who is most often trotted out to exemplify just how bad (... sexist, heterosexist, as well as utterly distanced from ... actual lived experiences) philosophical theories of sex, love, and gender can be ... [Varden's response is] this book, which [is] ... meticulous and sprawling, audacious and careful, passionate in equal measure ... I remain deeply grateful for the way Varden models for all of us a way of being a philosopher that is guided by the twin lodestars of passion and integrity, a way of being that this book exemplifies beautifully. * Ann J. Cahill, Estudos Kantianos *
Helga Varden's Sex, Love, and Gender ... is a rigorous, beautiful, and transformative book, which does vital work not only in fully developing how Kant's complex understandings of desire, reflection, and relationality should inform our understanding of his arguments about sex and love but also in positioning these Kantian arguments as absolutely critical resources to contemporary debates about gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexual (in)justice. Rarely is a book so comprehensive, so coherent, and so grounded in a vulnerability we rarely find in philosophy ... this book absolutely revolutionizes the kinds of questions we can ask about Kant on sex, love, and gender ... Varden's book articulates my own sense of Kant scholarship as a gateway into feminist philosophy ... that passes, if you will, a kind of philosophical Bechdel test. * Jordan Pascoe, Estudos Kantianos *
Sex, Love, and Gender is a sweeping and systematic tour de force - an account of our sexual and gendered human nature, grounded in Kantian theory, that is courageously comprehensive in scope, carefully rigorous in its attention to the details of Kantian philosophy, and refreshingly forthright in its author's unwillingness to be limited by Kant's own failings... it [is] what historically informed philosophy can be at its very best: a direct and engaging conversation across centuries, which strives to leave the limits of each cultural context not by abandoning them, but by acknowledging and engaging them ... [Varden's] authorial vulnerability... [and]... sincerity is as refreshing as her consistent nimbleness of argument and seemingly encyclopaedic grasp of Kant's moral-political oeuvre found throughout this book. * Alice MacLachlan, Estudos Kantianos *
Awards
Winner of Winner, 2023 NAKS Senior Scholar Prize.
Book Information
ISBN 9780198812838
Author Helga Varden
Format Hardback
Page Count 358
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 666g
Dimensions(mm) 237mm * 161mm * 25mm
About the Author
Helga Varden is a professor in philosophy and in gender and women studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has published on a range of classical philosophical issues-- including Kant's answer to the murderer at the door, private property, political obligations, and political legitimacy-as well as on applied issues such as terrorism, poverty, and non-human animals. With a particular interest in Kant's contributions both to the philosophical canon and to contemporary issues, Varden is one of the few Kant scholars to have brought Kant's ideas to bear also on core issues in feminist philosophy as well as in the philosophy of sex and love, including abortion and same-sex marriage.
Reviews
Sex, Love, and Gender ... offers a non-apologetic analysis of Kant's sexist ideas that does not preclude a reconstruction of a Kantian vision of the human sexual and loving nature that is philosophically opened to the realities of polyamorous, polysexual, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, trans, and in general LGBTQIA+ people's lives ... it dismantles a narrative and dislocates mainstream readings of Kantian ethics and politics (apologetic and critical alike) with an outstanding exegetical work ... it also shows who an exclusionary comprehension of gender, sex, and love is plainly wrong even by traditional philosophical standards ... This is a book by someone who takes seriously that we, as embodied social beings, get harmed and do harm, that we are not more innocent than we are guilty ... It is a book that does not assume the innocent position, and neither does it assume a missionary one. * Macarena Marey, Studi Kantiani *
Varden develops an inclusive theory of sex, love, and gender -- a theory based on a deep, creative exposition of Immanuel Kant's writing that overcomes the philosophical mistakes and limitations of Kant's work on these issues. * J. A. Kegley, CHOICE *
This book draws on Kant's philosophy to construct a compelling philosophical account of sex, love, and gender that speaks to the lives of heterosexual, polysexual, polyamorous people, as well as those belonging to the LGBTQIA community. What makes Varden's project unique is her sensitivity to sexual diversity, as well as her acknowledgement of the fact that we are rational, yet also embodied, social beings... Varden thoroughly engages with the existing Kantian literature and overcomes much of what has created puzzlement, scorn, and even a total abandonment of Kant's views, especially by feminist philosophers. * Lina Papadaki, Con-Textos Kantianos *
Sex, Love, and Gender is an ambitious work. . . . [its] major contribution is that it addresses much neglected subjects in the literature on Kant's practical philosophy, while making the case to non-Kantians that the Kantian tradition has something important to contribute to contemporary discourse on sex, love, and gender. . . . We can all look forward to the rich discourse Varden's book will undoubtedly inspire. * Melissa Seymour Fahmy, Mind *
Helga Varden's Sex, Love, and Gender: A Kantian Theory is an extraordinarily ambitious, systematic account of sexual love, sexual and gender identity, and sexual orientation viewed through a Kantian lens. . . . what Varden has given us here is nothing short of a radically new, cohesive, and wide-reaching encapsulation of Kant's entire theory of human nature, one that stands to upend (and ultimately rectify) more than a half-century of mistaken interpretations of Kant's views. * Carol Hay, SGIR Review *
a bold first attempt to bring Kant's theory to bear on issues surrounding sex, love, and gender. But to my mind, it makes an equally valuable contribution to the movement in Kant scholarship to uncover and develop the rich and nuanced account of human nature embedded within his moral theory. * Janelle DeWitt, SGIR Review *
sweeping, challenging, and imaginative' * Jennifer Ryan Lockhart, SGIR Review *
In this impressive monograph, Helga Varden collects and builds on years of work to generate a systematic, feminist and inclusive theory of sex, love and gender grounded in Kant's philosophy. . . . Sex, Love, and Gender is, in equal measure, a well-organized and thought provoking book. . . . While her theory of sex, love and gender cannot erase Kant's sexist or homophobic assumptions, it brilliantly uses some of the finest resources of Kantian philosophy to come to a new understanding of a fundamental aspect of human life. * Charlotte Sabourin, Kantian Review *
This groundbreaking book is quite simply a tour de force. Even Kant's defenders don't expect him to be a fruitful source of theorizing about gender, sexuality and sex, but Varden presents an impressively systematic and deep theory which synthesizes resources from his moral, political, legal and anthropological writings to give a rich account of our embodied, social human nature, the role in our lives of good sex, an analysis of sexual oppression and violence, and an important account on the role of the law and justice in relation to these. Clearly written, accessible, and avoiding jargon wherever possible, it will be a landmark in the literature for years to come. * Lucy Allais, University of California, San Diego *
Sex, Love, and Gender offers a unified philosophical theory of human nature, freedom, and political right that is at once ardently feminist and genuinely Kantian. Helga Varden brings out of Kant's philosophy a theory of human nature that explains our deepest needs and desires, and why sexual violence, gender oppression, and denial of full recognition of our sexual and gender identities are so deeply hurtful and wrong. Professor Varden applies these theories to controversial philosophical issues surrounding sex and gender, including pornography, sex work, and abortion, and derives powerful and novel arguments. This magnificent book will be widely read and influential in both Kant scholarship and feminist philosophy. * Ann E. Cudd, University of Pittsburgh *
This book combines an impressively detailed and systematic exposition of Kant's practical philosophy, which forms the backbone of the argument, with analysis of a range of positions in law, anthropology, and social and political theory. Varden makes a powerful case for reading texts from the history of philosophy in light of present and urgent concerns. She combines originality, scholarship, and a quality not often found and rarely sought in philosophical arguments -- passion. The book's compassionate advocacy of embodied social human nature makes this Kantian theory of sex, love, and gender nothing less than a theory of the human good. * Katerina Deligiorgi, University of Sussex *
With her signature wit and grace, Varden cuts through centuries of interpretative blind spots, demonstrating how to read a canonical figure such as Kant critically yet charitably...She shows how it's possible take Kant on his own terms while simultaneously making his work relevant to important contemporary issues...Sex, Love, and Gender is the book we need. It's the book that feminist and LGBTQIA scholars need to finally, definitively convince Kantian scholars that there are pressing issues of justice that need to be taken seriously. And it's the book Kantians need to show these same anti-oppression scholars what it looks like when we start using the master's tools to dismantle the master's house. * Carol Hay, University of Massachusetts, Lowell *
[This] book is...a tour de force, a love letter, a dive into Kant's writings that somehow manages to be equally broad and deep...[I]magine the discipline of philosophy looking at Varden ... dar[ing her] to come up with a comprehensive theory of sex, love, and gender...ground[ed]...in the thinking of the figure who is most often trotted out to exemplify just how bad philosophical theories of sex, love, and gender can be...[Varden's response is] this book, which...[is] both meticulous and sprawling, audacious and careful, passionate in equal measure about the contours of a flourishing human life...I remain deeply grateful for the way Varden models for all of us a way of being a philosopher that is guided by the twin lodestars of passion and integrity, a way of being that this book exemplifies beautifully. * Ann J. Cahill, Elon University *
Helga Varden's Sex, Love, and Gender...is a rigorous, beautiful, and transformative book, which does vital work not only in fully developing how Kant's complex understandings of desire, reflection, and relationality should inform our understanding of his arguments about sex and love but also in positioning these Kantian arguments as absolutely critical resources to contemporary debates about gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexual (in)justice...this book absolutely revolutionizes the kinds of questions we can ask about Kant on sex, love, and gender...Varden's book articulates my own sense of Kant scholarship as a gateway into feminist philosophy, as a rare space in mainstream philosophical scholarship that passes, if you will, a kind of philosophical Bechdel test. * Jordan Pascoe, Manhattan College *
Sex, Love, and Gender is a sweeping and systematic tour de force - an account of our sexual and gendered human nature, grounded in Kantian theory, that is courageously comprehensive in scope, carefully rigorous in its attention to the details of Kantian philosophy, and refreshingly forthright in its author's unwillingness to be limited by Kant's own failings...it [is] what historically informed philosophy can be at its very best: a direct and engaging conversation across centuries, which strives to leave the limits of each cultural context not by abandoning them, but by acknowledging and engaging them and, in doing so, inviting us to reflect on the limits of our own...as refreshing as her consistent nimbleness of argument and seemingly encyclopedic grasp of Kant's moral-political oeuvre found throughout this book. * Alice MacLachlan, York University *
[This] book is ... a tour de force, a love letter, a dive into Kant's writings that somehow manages to be equally broad and deep... [I]magine the discipline of philosophy looking at Varden... dar[ing her] to come up with a comprehensive theory of sex, love, and gender ... ground[ed]...in the thinking of the figure who is most often trotted out to exemplify just how bad (... sexist, heterosexist, as well as utterly distanced from ... actual lived experiences) philosophical theories of sex, love, and gender can be ... [Varden's response is] this book, which [is] ... meticulous and sprawling, audacious and careful, passionate in equal measure ... I remain deeply grateful for the way Varden models for all of us a way of being a philosopher that is guided by the twin lodestars of passion and integrity, a way of being that this book exemplifies beautifully. * Ann J. Cahill, Estudos Kantianos *
Helga Varden's Sex, Love, and Gender ... is a rigorous, beautiful, and transformative book, which does vital work not only in fully developing how Kant's complex understandings of desire, reflection, and relationality should inform our understanding of his arguments about sex and love but also in positioning these Kantian arguments as absolutely critical resources to contemporary debates about gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexual (in)justice. Rarely is a book so comprehensive, so coherent, and so grounded in a vulnerability we rarely find in philosophy ... this book absolutely revolutionizes the kinds of questions we can ask about Kant on sex, love, and gender ... Varden's book articulates my own sense of Kant scholarship as a gateway into feminist philosophy ... that passes, if you will, a kind of philosophical Bechdel test. * Jordan Pascoe, Estudos Kantianos *
Sex, Love, and Gender is a sweeping and systematic tour de force - an account of our sexual and gendered human nature, grounded in Kantian theory, that is courageously comprehensive in scope, carefully rigorous in its attention to the details of Kantian philosophy, and refreshingly forthright in its author's unwillingness to be limited by Kant's own failings... it [is] what historically informed philosophy can be at its very best: a direct and engaging conversation across centuries, which strives to leave the limits of each cultural context not by abandoning them, but by acknowledging and engaging them ... [Varden's] authorial vulnerability... [and]... sincerity is as refreshing as her consistent nimbleness of argument and seemingly encyclopaedic grasp of Kant's moral-political oeuvre found throughout this book. * Alice MacLachlan, Estudos Kantianos *
Awards
Winner of Winner, 2023 NAKS Senior Scholar Prize.
Book Information
ISBN 9780198812838
Author Helga Varden
Format Hardback
Page Count 358
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 666g
Dimensions(mm) 237mm * 161mm * 25mm
