Ars Erotica
Sex and Somaesthetics in the Classical Arts of Love

Drawing on theories of lovemaking from ancient Asian and Western cultures, this book provides a new aesthetics of erotic love.

Richard Shusterman (Author)

9780521181204, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 25 March 2021

436 pages
22.6 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.63 kg

'Rich in its cross-cultural perspectives of how artistic body practices (including the art of love making) are cultivated, Ars Erotica combines important ideas from different philosophical traditions with literary works emanating from varied cultural, religious, and linguistic legacies. The mixture of both philosophy and literature in the book helps reconcile the long-standing disputes regarding the divide between the two scholarships, thus making Shusterman's writing worthy of investigating.' Setiono Sugiharto, Journal of Language and Literature

The term ars erotica refers to the styles and techniques of lovemaking with the honorific title of art. But in what sense are these practices artistic and how do they contribute to the aesthetics and ethics of self-cultivation in the art of living? In this book, Richard Shusterman offers a critical, comparative analysis of the erotic theories proposed by the most influential premodern cultural traditions that shaped our contemporary world. Beginning with ancient Greece, whose god of desiring love gave eroticism its name, Shusterman examines the Judaeo-Christian biblical tradition and the classical erotic theories of Chinese, Indian, Islamic, and Japanese cultures, before concluding with medieval and Renaissance Europe. His exploration of their errors and insights shows how we could improve the quality of life and love today. By using the engine of eros to cultivate qualities of sensitivity, grace, skill, and self-mastery, we can reimagine a richer, more positive vision of sex education.

1. Ars Erotica and the question of aesthetics
2. Dialectics of desire and virtue
3. The biblical tradition
4. Chinese Qi erotics
5. Lovemaking as aesthetic education
6. Fragrance, veils, and violence
7. From romantic refinement to courtesan conoisseurship
8. Commingling, complexity, and conflict.

Subject Areas: Sociology: sexual relations [JHBK5], Gender studies, gender groups [JFSJ], Religious aspects of sexuality, gender & relationships [HRLM7], Philosophy of religion [HRAB], History of Western philosophy [HPC]