Desire

The Psychology and Neuroscience of Desire and Action

by Patrick Butlin

May 2012 version

A detailed summary of recent scientific research on desire and action selection, aimed at philosophers. A detailed summary of recent scientific research on desire and action selection, aimed at philosophers.

M. Hommelette's Wild Ride: Lamella as a Category of Shame

by Christine Evans

I'm in Love! I'm a Believer!: Structures of Belief in Jonathan Glazer's Birth

by Christine Evans

Autonomy and Desire in Machines and Cognitive Agent Systems

by Kevin Magill

Co-authored with Yasemin J. Erden, published 'Online First' in 'Cognitive Computation', 2012, DOI DOI 10.1007/s12559-012-9140-9. Available through subscribing institutions. Drop me a line if you can't access.
Substantially revised from 2011 paper of same title.

The development of cognitive agent systems relies on theories of agency, within which the concept of desire is key.... more The development of cognitive agent systems relies on theories of agency, within which the concept of desire is key. Indeed, in the quest to develop increasingly autonomous cognitive agent systems, desire has had a significant role. We argue, however, that insufficient attention has been given to analysis and clarification of desire as a complex concept. Accordingly, in this paper, we will draw on some key philosophical accounts of the nature of desire, including what distinguishes it from other mental and motivational states, in order to identify some key characteristics of desire as a complex concept. We will then draw on these in order to investigate the role, definition and adequacy of concepts of desire within applied theoretical models of agency and agent systems.

Ęrgi ok œði ok óþola: 'Lust, perversity and unbearable longing' - the threat of induced desire in Skírnismál

by Richard Cole

Paper given at the colloquium "Gender and Transgression in the Middle Ages" (4th-5th May, 2012, St. Andrew)

(Dis)entangling Desire in Passing

by Tyler Carson

Irene Redflield in Passing is a seemingly dull and insipid character in contrast to the flamboyant and hyperbolic... more Irene Redflield in Passing is a seemingly dull and insipid character in contrast to the flamboyant and hyperbolic nature of Clare Kendry. Yet, as Irene’s character develops she captures the critical reader’s attention, becoming a fruitful, complex, and intriguing object of analysis. At the beginning of the novel, Irene presents herself as a woman in control of her body, her emotions, and her social relations. However, with the return of her childhood friend Clare Kendry—whose lifestyle she strongly repudiates—Irene’s notions of herself become unhinged. Indeed, by the end of Passing, Irene’s entire sense of self becomes completely destabilized. This essay will explore Irene’s dyadic relationship with Clare and will analyze why her identity is troubled by the emergence of this character. I posit that Clare’s presence evokes some of Irene’s repressed and unspeakable queer desires, effectively challenging the statement that “to [Irene] security was the most important and desired thing in life” (Larsen, 1929, p. 107, emphasis added). An examination of Irene’s different positions and subjectivities—including race, class, and gender—will reveal how these identities intersect, interact and ultimately work to constrain and delimit her sexuality.

Illusions of Love: The ‘Woman-Who-Never-Was’ and the 'Libro de buen amor'

by Nicholas Ealy

Sexuality, Sociality and Cosmology in Medieval Literary Texts, Edited by Jennifer Brown and Marla Segol, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012 (ISBN: 978-0230109803)

This essay examines the connection in the 'Libro de buen amor' between the Archpriest’s cosmological imperative to... more This essay examines the connection in the 'Libro de buen amor' between the Archpriest’s cosmological imperative to love and the portrait of an ideal lady given to him by Amor. In this analysis, the essay argues that the portrait both embodies the Archpriest’s endless search for love and symbolizes the very nature and limits of human desire.

The Poet at the Mirror: René d’Anjou and Authorial Doubling in the 'Livre du Coeur d’Amour épris'

by Nicholas Ealy

Fifteenth-Century Studies 37, March 2012 (ISBN 978-1571135261), 17-45.

In his 'Livre du Coeur d’Amour épris' (1457), René, Duke of the Angevin territories and King of Sicily during the... more In his 'Livre du Coeur d’Amour épris' (1457), René, Duke of the Angevin territories and King of Sicily during the fifteenth century, recounts the journey undertaken by his personified Heart toward Douce Merci, the woman of his affection. The text, written as an extended dream, introduces a structural split in its narrative between the author (René) and a fictionalized dreamer / adventurer who speaks in the first person, shares the monarch’s name, and mirrors his best qualities. This division between extratextual author and textual counterpart, a technique used in earlier works such as the 'Roman de la Rose,' reenacts the doubling that Ovid’s Narcissus experiences as he beholds his own idealized image upon the surface of the fountain’s waters. The 'Livre du Coeur d’Amour épris' acts as a mirror in which the lover’s textual double is an heir of this narcissine image that defines and directs his desire. Like that of the mythic adolescent, René’s doubling ultimately serves as a metaphor for the amorous feelings that uncontrollably strike him, leading, as in Ovid’s tale, to an alienating separation between his desire and its fulfillment. In an exploration of the king’s unsatisfied love for Douce Merci, this study examines how his double (1) is a manifestation of his divisive desire and (2) attempts to achieve the fulfillment that he in the extratextual world is incapable of attaining. This is accomplished through a close reading of three key episodes of the 'Livre du Coeur d’Amour épris' that specifically bear upon the theme of doubling. In addition, manuscript illustrations of the text in Vienna and Paris present visual themes that significantly parallel the trope of the double in the text. These include a portrait of René’s textual counterpart of the dream, imagery of the fountain and stone that most specifically reenacts the Narcissus myth, and the Diamond Mirror of the Castle of Pleasure into which René’s Heart must gaze. Through this combined analysis of text and image, the significance of the doubling action at the core of the text is elucidated.

From Blood-on-Snow to Boys-on-Sand: Perceval's Mirror in Michel Tournier's 'The Ogre'

by Nicholas Ealy

Studies in the Novel 44.1, Spring 2012

This article examines the connection between the blood-on-snow scene of Chrétien de Troyes’ 'Story of the Grail,'... more This article examines the connection between the blood-on-snow scene of Chrétien de Troyes’ 'Story of the Grail,' where the red and white colors of the episode remind Perceval of his beloved Blancheflor, and the boys-on-sand incident of Michel Tournier’s 'The Ogre' ('Le Roi des Aulnes') where Abel Tiffauges sees his three favorite boys dressed in red and performing maneuvers on white sand at a Nazi military school. The romance serves as a source for the novel because it presents an idealized image of the beloved that functions as a mirror demanding active deliberation from the onlooker. In this reading, the youth of the boys-on-sand episode, by assuming the reflective qualities of Blancheflor’s likeness, become the central image that directs Abel’s search for fulfillment and meaning in the world around him while simultaneously marking his ultimate deception and demise.

Desiring Oedipus in Stephen Frear's The Grifters

by Melissa Tanti

Tanti, Melissa. “Desiring Oedipus in Stephen Frear’s The Grifters.” Journal of Religion and Film.15.2 (2011)

Deep, Dark,...or Transparent? Knowing Our Desires

by Lauren Ashwell

Desire and Transcendence

by Julian Forth

A paper on desire and transcendence in Augustine. A paper on desire and transcendence in Augustine.

Testosterone and Sexual Desire in Healthy Women and Men

by Sari van Anders

in press, Archives of Sexual Behavior

Sexual desire is typically higher in men than in women, with testosterone (T) thought to account for this difference... more Sexual desire is typically higher in men than in women, with testosterone (T) thought to account for this difference as well as within-sex variation in desire in both women and men. However, few studies have incorporated both hormonal and social or psychological factors in studies of sexual desire.The present study addressed how three psychological domains (sexual–relational, stress–mood, body–embodiment) were related to links between T and sexual desire in healthy adults and whether dyadic and solitary desire showed associations with T. Participants (n=196) were recruited as part of the Partnering, Physiology, and Health study, which had 105men and 91women who completed questionnaires and provided saliva for cortisol and T assays. T was positively linked to solitary desire in women, with masturbation frequency influencing this link. In contrast, T was negatively correlated with dyadic desire in women, but only when cortisol and perceived social stress were controlled. Replicating past findings, no significant correlations between T and desire in men were apparent, but these analyses showed that the null association remained even when psychological and confound variables were controlled. Men showed higher desire than women, but masturbation frequency rather than T influenced this difference. Results were discussed in terms of challenges to assumptions of clear links between T and desire, gendered approaches to T, and the unitarity of desire.

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE The Media are Stepping on Our Toes

by Jacques Coulardeau

Since I am going to take into account three works, the play, the film adapted from the play and also the opera adapted from the play (music by André Previn and libretto by Philip Littell), I definitely have to consider the problem of the shift from one medium to another, hence the potentialities and limitations each medium carries and implies.

Theoritical concepts and approach

To understand such a field we have to go back to Marshall McLuhan because he is the man who best theorized on the subject and can provide us with the most enlightening starting points and concepts.

In other words, willy-nilly, with the agreement of the author or not, “the medium is the message.” The question then... more In other words, willy-nilly, with the agreement of the author or not, “the medium is the message.” The question then is how we can make the message stronger than the medium or how can we use the medium to make the message stronger. Too often a hot medium (the cinema, music and singing) has a tendency to reduce the message from what it would be in a cool medium. I find a hot medium implies a complete projection of the audience into the medium, whereas a cool medium implies the audience keep their heads clear and sharp on their shoulders thanks to a safe distanciation.

« A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE » THE MEDIUM IS WAGGING ITS CHIN

by Jacques Coulardeau

To work on and compare a play and its cinematographic adaptation urges us to take McLuhan’s approach of what he calls « hot media » into account.
« A hot medium is one that extends one single sense in ‘high definition’ . High definition is the state of being well filled with data. A photograph is, visually, ‘high definition’ A cartoon is ‘low definition’ simply because very little visual information is provided. Telephone is a cool medium, or one of low definition, because the ear is given a meager amount of information. And speech is a cool medium of low definition, because so little is given and so much has to be filled by the listener. On the other hand, hot media do not leave so much to be filled in or completed by the audience. Hot media are, therefore, low in participation and cool media are high in participation or completion by the audience. » (Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media, The Extensions of Man, Routledge, London, 1964, p. 22-23)

The whole tragic social meaning of the play is back on stage. And yet, the final sentence of the play (« This game is... more The whole tragic social meaning of the play is back on stage. And yet, the final sentence of the play (« This game is seven-card stud ») is erased as if at the end the producer wanted to minimize the social meaning, but also maybe because it is too mysterious due to the reference to poker, and also because it would finish up the opera on a short sentence that is in a way spoken directly to the audience, that is in a way out of the play and opera itself, and André Previn’s music being modern, it refuses long variations, like in classical operas. This sentence would finish up the opera on a short, hence curt, undramatic coloration that would look like a wink at the audience. The composer, and libretto-writer, avoided this anticlimax at the end of the opera. Here it is only the medium that commands the show, even if the final erasure somewhat reduces the general meaning.

Against Representation: Death, Desire and Art in Philip Roth's The Bloody Chamber

by Zoe Roth

Philip Roth Studies, Special Issue: Roth and Women (Forthcoming Spring 2012: Purdue UP)

Visions of Death and Desire: Exploring Embodied Ethics in Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber

by Zoe Roth

in Watermark Journal (July 2011)

Death and Desires

by Ben Bradley

Co-authored with Kris McDaniel.  Forthcoming in James S. Taylor (ed.), The Metaphysics and Ethics of Death (Oxford University Press).

Nascent Desire: Building Rapport with Juliana Hodkinson and Niels Rønsholdt's Fish & Fowl

by Danielle Sofer

‘Awareness’ and the Open Secret: the Anti-politics of Nicholas Kristof and Liberal Desire

by Elliott Prasse-Freeman

Posted here is the longer version of the little article that can be found on The New Inquiry. It's basically the same, but has some footnotes that didn't make it through editing.