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In "a refreshingly daring work" ("Publishers Weekly"), Stein analyzes in print the many theories of what causes sexual orientation. He also examines some of the ethical issues surrounding such research, including gay and lesbian civil rights and the implications of parents trying to select or change the sexual orientation of their children. 31 halftones.
List of contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I: Metaphysics
- 1: Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation
- 2: What Is a Sexual Orientation?
- 3: Human Kinds
- 4: Essentialism and Constructionism about Sexual Orientation
- Part II: Science
- 5: The Emerging Scientific Program for the Study of Sexual Orientation
- 6: Animal Models and Evolutionary Accounts in the Emerging Research Program
- 7: Critique of the Emerging Research Program
- 8: Experiential Theories of Sexual Orientation
- 9: Sexual Orientation and Choice
- Part III: Ethics
- 10: Lesbian and Gay Rights and the Science of Sexual Orientation
- 11: Selecting and Changing the Sexual Orientation of Children
- 12: Should Scientific Research on Sexual Orientation Be Done?
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
About the author
Edward Stein is an Associate Professor of Law at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in New York City. He is the author of Without Good Reason: The Rationality Debate in Philosophy and Cognitive Science. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from M.I.T., a J.D. from Yale Law School, and he has previously taught at Yale University, New York University, Mount Holyoke College, and Williams College.
Summary
In recent years scientific research and popular opinion have favored the idea that sexual orientations are determined at birth. In this book, philosopher and legal theorist Edward Stein investigates scientific research on sexual orientation and shows that it is deeply flawed. He argues that this research assumes a picture of sexual desire that reflects unquestioned cultural stereotypes rather than cross-cultural scientific facts, and that it suffers from serious methodological problems. He then asks whether sexual orientation is amenable to empirical study and if it is useful for our understanding of human nature to categorize people based on their sexual desires. Perhaps most importantly, Stein examines some of the ethical issues surrounding such research, including gay and lesbian civil rights and the implications of parents trying to select or change the sexual orientation of their children.
Additional text
Despite its well-mannered title, the book is hot stuff....Meticulously researched and argued, Stein's book challenges the precepts of ten years of increasingly accepted scientific "fact". It begins with a sympathetic look at current scientific theories of sexual orientation but quickly pinpoints where they go off-kilter.
