День: 07.11.2015

Eunuchs in the twenty-first century

In the United States an estimated 40,000 men per year are chemically castrated as a treatment for metastasized prostate cancer. In many cases the growth of this type of cancer is dependent on testosterone, at least in the initial phase. In the Netherlands 7,000 new patients are diag­nosed with prostate cancer each year. Until well […]

OEDIPAL ISSUES

The oedipal family was a theoretical necessity for Freud. However, this focus on the family reflected a more general trend in social science discourse, a discourse that emerged in a period when a multitude of disciplinary problems was becoming apparent, problems for which the “nuclear” family, despite its increasing privacy and anonymity, was used as […]

Compulsiveness: Addicted to Love

Being in love can produce a sense of ecstasy, euphoria, and a feeling of well-being, much like a powerful drug. In fact, when a person is in love, his or her body releases the drug phenylethylamine, which produces these feelings (Sabelli et al., 1996). (Phenylethylamine is also present in chocolate, which may be why we […]

Jealousy: The Green-Eyed Monster

Jealousy is a common experience in intimate relationships. Imagine you are at a party with a person with whom you are in an exclusive, sexual relationship. You notice that person standing close to someone else, talking and laughing, and occasionally putting his or her hand on the other person’s arm. At one point, you notice […]

COVER STORY

Western cultures hide the breast mainly the nipple, while in some African and South Pacific cultures the bare breast has been a non — sexualized everyday sight. Commentators have suggested that the western taboo that has led to the covering up of the breast has stimulated man’s appetite for wanting what he doesn’t have. Going […]

Reason and Community

Explaining the motivation for his inquiry in the introduction to Part I of The Theory of Communicative Action, Habermas wrote: “The philosophical tradition, insofar as it suggests the possibility of a philosophical worldview, has become questionable. Philosophy can no longer refer to the whole of the world, of nature, of history, of society, in the […]

Making Requests Specific

The more specific a request is, the more likely it is to be understood and heeded. Lov­ers often ask for changes in the sexual aspects of their relationships in the vaguest language. It can be uncomfortable, even anxiety provoking, to be on the receiving end of an ill-defined request. Just how does one respond? Probably […]

Trust

To trust another is an act of courage because it grants that person the power to hurt or disappoint you. However, intimacy requires trust. Usually trust develops slowly. You trust your partner a little bit at the beginning of your relationship and begin to trust him or her more and more as he or she […]