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Meer Denken Over Seks (2012)

by Alain de Botton(Favorite Author)

3.45 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

De Arbeiderspers

review 1: This was the first Alain de Botton book I've ever read and, after spending eight or so years away from reading anything mildly philosophical, it was a good welcome back to the genre. If you can call it a genre. I mostly just call it a way of looking into a mirror and seeing every single hope and flaw you will/have encounter(ed) in intimate relationships. I'd recommend this read to anyone that wants to spend any effort being with another human being. Because it's not about sex, not really. It's about why everything fails because of skewed perceptions and failure to acknowledge our ever-sidling reality.
review 2: Some articulate, reasonable ideas in the opening chapter, before we move into a laughably outdated Freudian explanation for the origins of sexual desir... moree, followed by an absurdly Puritanical take down of internet pornography. I don't normally include excerpts, but this is too good (read: awful):"We may not want to go so far as to veil beauty [re: the merits of religious headcoverings for women], but perhaps we can come to see the point of censoring the internet and applaud any government attempts to reduce the ready and unchecked flow of pornography down our fibre-optic cables. Even if we no longer believe in a deity, we may have to concede that a degree of repression is necessary both for the mental health of our species and for the adequate functioning of a decently ordered and loving society."De Botton then goes on to discuss the merits of Renaissance-era Christian imagery as an admirable model for directing our pornographic tendencies:"The advantage of having sexual fantasies while looking at a Botticelli Madonna rather than at a stereotypical product of the modern porn industry is that the former doesn't compel us to make an uncomfortable choice between our sexuality and other qualities we aspire towards."Oh, man. While there's certainly critical dialogue to be had about internet porn, de Botton in this regard is pretty clearly a kook. less

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Reviews (see all)

linmic

Alain de Botton kan filosofische vraagstukken ontleden en voor simpele zielen zoals ik begrijpbaar maken. complimenten.Meer denken over seks is echter meer sociologisch/psychologisch dan filosofisch maar ontstijgt absoluut het Viva niveau. de Botton geeft geen vrolijke beschrijving van seks: "Ondanks onze verwoede pogingen het verschijnsel van zijn eigenaardigheden te ontdoen, zal seks zich nooit conformeren aan ons idee van eenvoudig of 'leuk'. Seks is van nature niet democratisch of teder, maar onlosmakelijk verbonden met wreedheid, overschrijdingen en het verlangen naar onderwerping en vernedering. Seks laat zich niet netjes terugbrengen tot een bekroning van onze liefde, zoals we dat graag zouden zien".Over zijn motivatie voor dit boek:"Een boek kan troost bieden door ons eraan te herinneren dat we niet alleen staan als het gaat om de vernederende en merkwaardige moeilijkheden die het onontkoombare bezit van sexuele driften met zich meebrengt."Goed boek, alleen zijn de voorbeelden die de Botton gebruikt soms wat vreemd en staan ze ver weg van mijn sexuele beleving.

kimba

This was the first Alain de Botton book I've ever read and, after spending eight or so years away from reading anything mildly philosophical, it was a good welcome back to the genre. If you can call it a genre. I mostly just call it a way of looking into a mirror and seeing every single hope and flaw you will/have encounter(ed) in intimate relationships. I'd recommend this read to anyone that wants to spend any effort being with another human being. Because it's not about sex, not really. It's about why everything fails because of skewed perceptions and failure to acknowledge our ever-sidling reality.

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