This book combines the insights of enlightenment thinking and feminist theory to explore the significance of love in modern philosophy. The author argues for the importance of emotion in general, and love in particular, to moral and political philosophy, pointing out that some of the central philosophers of the enlightment were committed to a moralized conception of love. However, she believes that feminism's insights arise not from its attribution of special and distinctive qualities to women, but from its recognition of human vulernability.

In this collection of essays distinguished political philosophers discuss the problems of toleration which arise in multi-cultural and multi-racial society. They ask whether allegiance to the group should take priority over allegiance to the wider society, whether individual identity is formed by the community, and how the rival values of different groups are to be accommodated in liberal polities. The essays are accessible to the lay reader and will also be of interest to students of political philosophy, and cultural and social studies.

Susan Mendus investigates the significance of love in moral and political philosophy. She argues for a re-interpretation of both enlightenment and feminist thinking, and shows how the former often takes love as central, while the latter draws our attention to human vulnerability and neediness. By combining the insights of enlightenment philosophy and feminist theory, the book aims to provide a new understanding of the role of love in moral and political philosophy.

Public disenchantment with politics has become a key feature of the world in which we live. In this book, Susan Mendus asks if politicians can be morally good or whether politics is destined to involve dirty hands or the loss of integrity, as many modern philosophers claim.