Overview

Rae Langton here draws together her ground-breaking work on pornography and objectification. On pornography she argues from uncontroversial liberal premises to the controversial feminist conclusions that pornography subordinates and silences women, and that women have rights against pornography. On objectification she begins with the traditional idea that objectification involves treating a person as a thing, but then shows that it is through a kind of self-fulfilling projection of beliefs and perceptions of women as subordinate that women are made subordinate and treated as things. These controversial essays in feminist philosophy will be stimulating reading for anyone interested in the status of women in society.

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9780199247066

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Reviews

an impressive collection of work, with a philosophically delightful combination of rigour and passion. Langton has made an undeniably important contribution to topics which are both practically important and theoretically fascinating. Fiona Woollard, Times Literary Supplement The originality, and the very considerable intellectual vitality of this collection, lies less in the cast of characters than it does in the way in which Langton explores the possibility of bringing together the apparently irreconcilable... For philosophers, arguments about pornography involve questions about human and civil rights and in the presentation of these arguments Langton offers a rich resource. Mary Evans, Times Higher Education Supplement Langton's crisp, clear, and careful argumentation proves that philosophy has much to offer the socially, politically and even legally charged issues addressed here. This book will not disappoint... Langton's treatment of sexual objectification is also both subtle and complex... In sum, the book is superb... This is feminist scholarship at its very best. It'd first-rate philosophy. Mary Kate McGowan, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews The essays in Sexual Solipsism confront some of the most highly charged questions that arise in relations between the sexes. What happens when one person objectifies another? What makes it possible for some to be silenced by others, notwithstanding their freedom to speak? How can injustice, or even the adoption of an epistemic or practical standpoint, undermine the possibility of intimacy? Rae Langton's insightful answers to these questions display a heady mix of clarity, rigor, passion and wit. Rarely have I enjoyed or profited from reading a collection more. Michael Smith, Princeton University Some feminists are drawn to Audre Lorde's remark that, 'The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house.' The best refutation of that pessimism is Rae Langton's Sexual Solipsism. These fine essays chisel away at patriarchal thought, especially its sometimes lazy defenses of free speech and shallow notions of autonomy. But they do so by wielding the sharpest tools in the kit of modern philosophy. Langton's conclusions challenge many liberals; her methods challenge many feminists. This is feminist philosophy at its best. Leslie Green, University of Oxford Rae Langton's Sexual Solipsism is a superb example of feminist philosophy. Crisp, lucid, analytically adept, passionately engaged, imaginatively resourceful, it goes to the heart of issues concerning pornography and the 'objectification' of women like nothing else in the literature, showing how good philosophy can give us resources to confront some of the world's worst evils. A must-read for all who care about social justice. Martha Nussbaum, University of Chicago

it is especially gratifying to have a book to recommend which is at once a compelling work of feminism and an excellent work of analytic philosophy. But one need not be a feminist or an analytic philosopher to admire Langton's distingtive, engaging style, and to wonder at the care and rigour of her arguments. * Jennifer Hornsby, Jurisprudence * an impressive collection of work, with a philosophically delightful combination of rigour and passion. Langton has made an undeniably important contribution to topics which are both practically important and theoretically fascinating. * Fiona Woollard, Times Literary Supplement * The originality, and the very considerable intellectual vitality of this collection, lies less in the cast of characters than it does in the way in which Langton explores the possibility of bringing together the apparently irreconcilable... For philosophers, arguments about pornography involve questions about human and civil rights and in the presentation of these arguments Langton offers a rich resource. * Mary Evans, Times Higher Education Supplement * Langton's crisp, clear, and careful argumentation proves that philosophy has much to offer the socially, politically and even legally charged issues addressed here. This book will not disappoint... Langton's treatment of sexual objectification is also both subtle and complex... In sum, the book is superb... This is feminist scholarship at its very best. It'd first-rate philosophy. * Mary Kate McGowan, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * The essays in Sexual Solipsism confront some of the most highly charged questions that arise in relations between the sexes. What happens when one person objectifies another? What makes it possible for some to be silenced by others, notwithstanding their freedom to speak? How can injustice, or even the adoption of an epistemic or practical standpoint, undermine the possibility of intimacy? Rae Langton's insightful answers to these questions display a heady mix of clarity, rigor, passion and wit. Rarely have I enjoyed or profited from reading a collection more. * Michael Smith, Princeton University * Some feminists are drawn to Audre Lorde's remark that, 'The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house.' The best refutation of that pessimism is Rae Langton's Sexual Solipsism. These fine essays chisel away at patriarchal thought, especially its sometimes lazy defenses of free speech and shallow notions of autonomy. But they do so by wielding the sharpest tools in the kit of modern philosophy. Langton's conclusions challenge many liberals; her methods challenge many feminists. This is feminist philosophy at its best. * Leslie Green, University of Oxford * Rae Langton's Sexual Solipsism is a superb example of feminist philosophy. Crisp, lucid, analytically adept, passionately engaged, imaginatively resourceful, it goes to the heart of issues concerning pornography and the 'objectification' of women like nothing else in the literature, showing how good philosophy can give us resources to confront some of the world's worst evils. A must-read for all who care about social justice. * Martha Nussbaum, University of Chicago *

Author Information

Rae Langton is Professor of Philosophy at MIT. She has been affiliated with Monash University, the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University, Sheffield University, and the University of Edinburgh.

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