Précis of The Mismeasure of Desire: The Science,Theory and Ethics of Sexual Orientation

Law and Philosophy -     

Sexual Desire and the Importance of Marriage in Kant's Philosophy of Law

In his moral writings, Kant states that moral duty cannot be derived from “the special characteristics of human nature.” This statement is untenable if one takes seriously Kant's moral views on sexual desire. Instead close study reveals that considerations based on both morality and nature play a role here. The combination of these two elements leads to inconsistencies and difficulties in Kant's understanding of sexual desire, but they enable us to better understand the importance Kant attributes to marriage within his philosophy of law.     

Ethnicity and Sexual Orientation as PTSD Mitigators in Child Sexual Abuse Survivors

Purpose and Potential benefits: Research, to our knowledge, has not examined the effect of demographic variables on PTSD symptoms among adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). This study explores the relationship between demographic variables and scores of CSA survivors on the Impact of Scale (IES). Participants were 257 women CSA survivors entering outpatient treatment at a university-based mental health center. All participants reported a CSA history and presented with psychological difficulties associated with CSA. The demographic variables investigated were relationship status, religious affiliation, ethnicity, educational level, spousal educational level income, and sexual orientation. Significance tests were used to examine each variable and scores on the Total IES and Avoidance and Intrusion Subscales. Total IES and Intrusion scores differed for sexual orientation and ethnicity in accord with conventional standards of significance ( < .05). Self-reported asexuals indicated fewer intrusive and total PTSD symptoms than heterosexuals, lesbians, and bisexuals. Likewise, Hispanics reported less intrusive PTSD symptoms than Non-Hispanic Caucasians. Our findings invite further exploration of the relationship between ethnicity and sexual orientation and the long-term effects of CSA. A question for empirical investigation is whether asexuality shields against the triggering of CSA memories by a sexual relationship. Another possible area of inquiry is whether particular characteristics of Hispanic culture as a whole serve to moderate the detrimental effects of CSA.     

Sexual Orientation,Race, and Trauma as Predictors of Sexual Assault Recovery

Sexual minorities and racial minorities experience greater negative impact following sexual assault. We examined recovery from sexual assault among women who identified as heterosexual and bisexual across racial groups. A community sample of women (N?=?905) completed three yearly surveys about sexual victimization, recovery outcomes, race group, and sexual minority status. Bisexual women and Black women reported greater recovery problems. However, Black women improved more quickly on depression symptoms than non-Black women. Finally, repeated adult victimization uniquely undermined survivors’ recovery, even when controlling for child sexual abuse. Sexual minority and race status variables and their intersections with revictimization play roles in recovery and should be considered in treatment protocols for sexual assault survivors.     

Sexual Orientation and the Effects of Intimate Partner Violence

Studies have demonstrated a relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and depression and other mental health issues such as suicidal behavior and posttraumatic stress disorder. Despite the breadth of the literature, there is a dearth of information specifically regarding the effects of IPV in same-sex relationships. Information regarding the prevalence of substance abuse and health issues in non-heterosexual IPV victims when compared to heterosexual IPV victims will be extremely helpful in developing tailored victim services to sexual minorities. This study uses the National Violence Against Women Survey to examine hypothesized relationships between IPV, its effects, and sexual orientation. Given the higher prevalence rates of IPV in same-sex relationships (Messinger, 2011 Messinger , A. ( 2011 ). Invisible victims: Same-sex IPV in the National Violence Against Women Survey . Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 26 , 2228 – 2243 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), logistic regression models are used to test the hypotheses that non-heterosexual victims of IPV will have higher rates of depression, substance use, and health issues.     

Sexual Orientation,Gender Identity,and Adoption Law

The legal landscape surrounding adoption by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning/queer (LGBTQ) parents continues to be dynamic and variable across the United States, yet the topic is generally viewed favorably by Americans and increasing numbers of LGBTQ adults are becoming adoptive parents. In this essay, we explore intersections of sexual orientation, gender identity, and adoption law. We discuss connections between parenting (including adoption) and marriage rights, highlight the influence of varying legal contexts and discrimination for LGBTQ adults who pursue adoption (including case examples from Florida after the gay adoption ban was lifted), and incorporating the perspectives of adoption‐agency personnel working with LGBTQ clients.     

The Vernacular Mobilization of Human Rights in Myanmar's Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Movement

This article examines how activists build a movement for sexual orientation and gender identity minorities in Myanmar, a country that is known for violent suppression of protests and is undergoing political reform. Based on original fieldwork, it finds that activists deploy a strategy of “vernacular mobilization of human rights” to persuade others to join their cause despite the risks to personal safety and to get around political constraints on collective organizing. Conceptualized at the intersection of the cultural study of human rights and social movements scholarship, “vernacular mobilization of human rights” theorizes the relationship between vernacularization—the translation and local adaptation of human rights—and movement micromobilization, specifying how the former unfolds as collective action framing processes. Through vernacularization activities, such as human rights workshops, movement leaders reframe grievances and shift the attribution of blame to empower and recruit new activists. Furthermore, with these framing processes, they generate a political community with a collective identity and social networks that they use to continue expanding the movement. The article enriches debates about the implications of implementing human rights and understandings of the relationship between human rights and movement mobilization, especially under repressive or uncertain political conditions.     

论伯林的自由观——从两种自由概念谈起

伯林提出了“积极自由”与“消极自由”的著名区分。在深刻剖析了三种不同类型的积极自由观和二十世纪极权主义的逻辑联系的基础上,伯林认为消极自由观是“机会”、“能够”、“可能性”取向的自由观,以区别于“必须”、“应该”取向的积极自由观。但伯林的剔除了自主概念的消极自由观也蕴含了内在的危机。     

The Priority of Liberty: An Argument from Social Equality

John Rawls’s thesis that a certain package of basic liberties should be given lexical priority is of great interest for legal and political philosophy, but it has received relatively little defense from Rawls or his supporters. In this paper, I examine three arguments for the thesis: the first is based on the two ‘moral powers’; the second, on the social bases of self-respect; and the third, on a Kantian notion of autonomy. I argue none of these accounts successfully establishes 1) the distinct claim of lexical priority, 2) for the complete package of basic liberties (including the fair value of the political liberties), on the basis of reasons that are appropriately public. In turn, I propose an alternative argument, in support of those two claims, based on the social or ‘relational’ conception of equality.

     

The Case of Weak Will and Wayward Desire

In this article, I confront Garvey’s argument that a weak-willed individual deserves partial excuse for trying to resist a strong desire that pushes him toward commission of a criminal act even though in the end he unreasonably abandons his resistance and commits the crime. I attempt to refute Garvey’s argument on two counts: one, I question whether the law should indeed provide mitigation to such an offender; and two, I argue that, even if it should, this mitigation may not come in the form of a partial defense. Defenses, even partial, are desert based, and there is nothing in Garvey’s offender’s circumstances that makes him less blameworthy for the crime he committed. A court may choose to treat such an offender more leniently but it should not be mandated to do so.

自生自发的秩序?——哈耶克自由理路的迷思

哈耶克对自由秩序的论证其基本立场在于对唯理主义的批判,其理路是主张“否定性自由”。虽然哈耶克力图将英国式的经验主义与其反唯理主义的立场融合,但历史与现实的错综复杂性使得这种理路难以解释所有的社会冲突。哈耶克对自由理路的贡献除了其对于自由立场的坚定捍卫以外,还在于其从自生自发秩序入手而对制度所作的稳健、温和的建构,哈氏理路的这种建构性对于我们现实的法制建构具有借鉴意义。     

行政刑法属性的论争及其定位

针对长期以来国内外有关行政刑法属性上的争论,尤其是行政法说与刑事法说,系统分析了争论的主要原因及牵涉的相关因素,并对行政刑法进行了符合现实条件的基本定位。行政刑法既有刑法的性格,又有行政法的某些特征,属于行政法与刑法的交叉领域。它是规定什么是行政犯罪、犯的何种行政犯罪以及应承担何种行政刑法责任的法律规范的总和。     

The Concept of Liberty in "A Theory of Justice" and Its Republican Version

Abstract. The Author offers three interpretations of the Rawlsian conception of liberty. At the same time he compares this formal version of civil and political liberty with the substantive version produced by the republican theory of liberty. The first question is this: Can liberties be unequal? Here the liberal concept of liberty is discussed linking human will of liberty and equality. The second question is: Can liberties be equal when their respective values are not? The Author stresses the Rawlsian distinction between liberty and the value of liberty showing the risk of reducing the less powerful to dependency. The third question is: Can political liberty be limited for the sake of personal liberties? From a republican perspective the answer to the Rawlsian instrumental conception of political liberty is that all personal liberties are necessarily founded on political liberty.*