Counseling implications of recent research on women

The growing concern for women and women's rights has been reflected in an increasing amount of research on women. As counselors may be unaware of the results of this research and its implications for counseling, the author surveys some of the recent investigations in four areas: counselor bias, demographic changes, sex differences, and sex-role stereotypes. After providing a review of the research in each area, she discusses implications of the findings. The author also makes specific suggestions for counselors who wish to confront some of the issues raised by recent research on women.     

Hedonism Reconsidered

This paper is a plea for hedonism to be taken more seriously. It begins by charting hedonism's decline, and suggests that this is a result of two major objections: the claim that hedonism is the 'philosophy of swine', reducing all value to a single common denominator, and Nozick's 'experience machine' objection. There follows some elucidation of the nature of hedonism, and of enjoyment in particular. Two types of theory of enjoyment are outlined–internalism, according to which enjoyment has some special 'feeling tone', and externalism, according to which enjoyment is any kind of experience to which we take some special attitude, such as that of desire. Internalism–the traditional view–is defended against current externalist orthodoxy. The paper ends with responses to the philosophy of swine and the experience machine objections.     

Sexual Difference,Animal Difference: Derrida and Difference “Worthy of Its Name”

I challenge the age‐old binary opposition between human and animal, not as philosophers sometimes do by claiming that humans are also animals, or that animals are capable of suffering or intelligence, but rather by questioning the very category of “the animal” itself. This category groups a nearly infinite variety of living beings into one concept measured in terms of humans—animals are those creatures that are not human. In addition, I argue that the binary opposition between human and animal is intimately linked to the binary opposition between man and woman. Furthermore, I suggest that thinking through animal differences or differences among various living creatures opens up the possibility of thinking beyond the dualist notion of sexual difference and enables thinking toward a multiplicity of sexual differences.     

Perceived benefits and costs of romantic relationships for women and men: Implications for exchange theory

This investigation examined the perceived benefits and costs of romantic (i.e., reciprocal dating) relationships. In Study 1, subjects provided open-ended reports regarding the benefits and costs associated with romantic involvement. Different groups of subjects ranked (Study 2) and rated (Study 3) these benefits and costs for importance. Companionship, happiness, and feeling loved or loving another were among the most important benefits accompanying romantic involvement. The most serious costs included stress and worry about the relationship, social and nonsocial sacrifices, and increased dependence on the partner. Compared to males, females regarded intimacy, self-growth, self-understanding, and positive self-esteem as more important benefits, and regarded loss of identity and innocence about relationships and love as more important costs Alternatively, males regarded sexual gratification as a more important benefit, and monetary losses as a more serious cost than did females Implications for exchange theory are highlighted.     

The Sweet Delight of Virtue and Grace in Aquinas's Ethics

Abstract:  This article examines the way in which Aquinas deploys the physics of motion throughout his theological corpus, and particularly in his understanding of virtue and grace. By pointing to analogies between the motion of bodies to their requisite ends in nature and the motion of human beings towards God, Aquinas deploys an aspect of natural philosophy gleaned from Aristotle and Neoplatonic sources to clarify the teachings of sacra doctrina . He discusses justification and Christology in terms borrowed from physics in such a way that the boundary between theology and philosophy is blurred. Humanity's motion to God is rendered 'sweet and delightful' through the motive power of grace in Christ.     

Marxism and Surrogacy

In this article, 1 argue that the liberal framework—its autonomous individuals with equal rights—allows judges to justify enforcing surrogacy contracts. More importantly, even where judges do not enforce surrogacy contracts, the liberal framework conceals gender and class issues which insure that the surrogate will lose custody of her child. I suggest that Marx's analysis of estranged labor can reveal the class and gender issues which the liberal framework conceals.