College Sex – Philosophy for Everyone: Philosophers With Benefits

Philosophy has a history of expanding wisdom to include more worldly affairs. Continuing this tradition, College Sex – Philosophy for Everyone  investigates a broad array of philosophical and moral issues relating to the sexual practices of students. Within the unique social setting of college comes a varied assortment of sexual relations and experiments, ranging from the mutually respectful, to the inebriated, meaningless, and the degrading. So lay back and ponder: Do students’ sexual acts need to involve love in order to have value? Should college students avoid a “friends with benefits” relationship? Should we condone relationships between students and teachers? Why is college a socially acceptable space for experimentation? Written with insight and humor, the essays shed light on sexual relations in college and examine a range of ethical issues, including: dating, cheating, courtship, homosexual experimentation, and drug and alcohol use, within the college setting.

Foreword ( Heather Corinna ). Acknowledgments ( Michael Bruce and Robert M. Stewart ). Campus Orientation: An Introduction to College Sex – Philosophy for Everyone ( Michael Bruce and Robert M. Stewart ). PART I FRESHMAN YEAR: Hook–Up Culture. 1 Sex and Socratic Experimentation ( Sisi Chen and George T. Hole ). 2 The Straight Sex Experiment ( Bassam Romaya ). 3 The Virtual Bra Clasp: Navigating Technology in College Courtship ( Michael Bruce ). 4 Smeared Makeup and Stiletto Heels: Clothing, Sexuality, and the Walk of Shame ( Brett Lunceford ). 5 Relations at a Distance ( Bill Puka ). PART II SOPHOMORE YEAR: Friends With Benefits. 6 What′s Love Got to Do with It? Epicureanism and Friends with Benefits ( William O. Stephens ). 7 Friends with Benefits: A Precarious Negotiation ( Timothy R. Levine and Paul A. Mongeau ). 8 The Philosophy of Friends with Benefits: What College Students Think They Know ( Kelli Jean K. Smith and Kelly Morrison ). PART III JUNIOR YEAR: Ethics of College Sex. 9 A Horny Dilemma: Sex and Friendship between Students and Professors ( Andrew Kania ). 10 Philosophers and the Not So Platonic Student–Teacher Relationship ( Danielle A. Layne ). 11 Thinking About Thinking About Sex ( Ashley McDowell ). 12 Exploring the Association Between Love and Sex ( Guy Pinku ). 13 Sex for a College Education ( Matthew Brophy ). PART IV SENIOR YEAR: Sex and Self–Respect. 14 Meaningful Sex and Moral Respect ( Robert M. Stewart ). 15 Can Girls Go Wild With Self–Respect? ( John Draeger ). 16 Mutual Respect and Sexual Morality: How to Have College Sex Well ( Yolanda Estes ). 17 Bad Faith or True Desire? A Sartrean View on College Sex ( Antti Kuusela ). Notes on Contributors.

Editors Michael Bruce currently works in the non–profit sector with at–risk youth. Previously, he was a teaching assistant at California State University, Chico, and received his Master’s degree from San Diego State University, specializing in continental philosophy. He has published articles in the pop culture and philosophy genre and is currently editing Just the Arguments: 100 of the Most Important Arguments in Western Philosophy for Wiley–Blackwell. Robert M. Stewart is Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Chico. He is the author of Moral Philosophy: A Comprehensive Introduction (1994), and editor of Philosophical Perspectives on Sex and Love (1995). He has published numerous journal articles. Series Editor Fritz Allhoff is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Western Michigan University, as well as a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University’s Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics.  In addition to editing the Philosophy for Everyone series, Allhoff is the volume editor or co–editor for several titles, including Wine & Philosophy (Wiley–Blackwell, 2007), Whiskey & Philosophy (with Marcus P. Adams, Wiley, 2009), and Food & Philosophy (with Dave Monroe, Wiley–Blackwell, 2007).

"Overall then, College Sex is a valuable collection. Most readers will want to skip and dip around the essays, looking for those that are most helpful to them. Many of the essays are not traditional philosophical approaches, but the use of communications and psychology scholarship in the book fits well with the philosophical discussion. Furthermore, the level of the writing is pitched well for lower level undergraduate courses in the philosophy of sex love: I plan to use some of the chapters here for my future courses." (Metapsychology, 31 May 2011) "You actually get something from it. Rather than a textbook in a class that you read and forget almost instantaneously, College Sex forces you to see sex from a more objective perspective – you′ll soon be asking questions regarding your own sex life and how good and healthy it actually is." ( Her Campus , September 2010) "The sex and philosophy combo might seem like a peculiar mix, but as you flip and through the book′s sections (freshman year, sophomore year, junior year and senior year), it′s plausible to see how Socrates, Nietzsche, Aristotle and sex are closely connected with one another." ( Campus Circle , 25 August 2010)