This book introduces the reader to the exciting new field of plant philosophy and takes it in a new direction to ask: what does it mean to say that plants are sexed? Do 'male' and 'female' really mean the same when applied to humans, trees, fungi and algae? Are the zoological categories of sex really adequate for understanding the - uniquely 'dibiontic' - life cycle of plants? Vegetal Sex addresses these questions through a detailed analysis of major moments in the history of plant sex, from Aristotle to the modern day. Tracing the transformations in the analogy between animals and plants that characterize this history, it shows how the analogy still functions in contemporary botany and asks: what would a non-zoocentric, plant-centred philosophy of vegetal sex be like? By showing how philosophy and botany have been and still are inextricably entwined, Vegetal Sex allows us to think vegetal being and, perhaps, to recognize the vegetal in us all.

'One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman' Simone de Beauvoir To what extent does our social existence determine who we are? What is the meaning of sexuality for human existence? What is the meaning of 'old age'? What is a woman? And what, for that matter, is a man? Stella Sandford explores the philosophical basis of Beauvoir's reflections on these and other questions, from her early moral period, through her post-war philosophical crisis, to the astounding polymathic studies of her mature thought. She demonstrates the persistence of the fundamental existential and ethical questions that drove Beauvoir's work and her constant revision of her own positions. With a central emphasis on Beauvoir's major work, The Second Sex, extracts are also taken from her first philosophical and political essays, as well as The Mandarins, Old Age and her essay on the Marquis de Sade.

This book introduces the reader to the exciting new field of plant philosophy and takes it in a new direction to ask: what does it mean to say that plants are sexed? Do 'male' and 'female' really mean the same when applied to humans, trees, fungi and algae? Are the zoological categories of sex really adequate for understanding the - uniquely 'dibiontic' - life cycle of plants? Vegetal Sex addresses these questions through a detailed analysis of major moments in the history of plant sex, from Aristotle to the modern day. Tracing the transformations in the analogy between animals and plants that characterize this history, it shows how the analogy still functions in contemporary botany and asks: what would a non-zoocentric, plant-centred philosophy of vegetal sex be like? By showing how philosophy and botany have been and still are inextricably entwined, Vegetal Sex allows us to think vegetal being and, perhaps, to recognize the vegetal in us all.

The How to Read series provides a context and an explanation that will facilitate and enrich your understanding of texts vital to the canon. These books use excerpts from the major texts to explain essential topics, such as Simone de Beauvoir's investigation of social existence and identity, gender, sexuality, and old age. To what extent does our social existence determine who we are? What is the meaning of sexuality for human existence? What is the meaning of old age ? What is a woman? And what, for that matter, is a man? Stella Sandford explores the philosophical basis of Beauvoir s reflections on these and other questions, from her early moral period, through her post-war philosophical crisis, to the astounding polymathic studies of her mature thought. She demonstrates the persistence of the fundamental existential and ethical questions that drove Beauvoir s work and her constant revisions of her own positions."

Emmanuel Levinas is best known for having reintroduced the question of ethics into the Continental philosophical tradition. In The Metaphysics of Love, however, Stella Sandford argues that an over-emphasis on ethics in the reception of Levinas's thought has concealed the basis and the details of his philosophical project.

The Metaphysics of Love traces Levinas's philosophy through a detailed discussion of the neglected Levinasian themes of eros, sexual difference, the "feminine" maternity, fecundity, paternity and fraternity, demonstrating the ultimate impossibility of his metaphysical enterprise. Arguing against this attempt to deploy phenomenology in the service of a metaphysics of transcendence, Sandford's book is, at the same time, a powerful feminist critique of both Levinas's gendered philosophical categories and the attempt to reclaim aspects of his philosophy for feminist theory.

Emmanuel Levinas is best known for having reintroduced the question of ethics into the Continental philosophical tradition. In The Metaphysics of Love, however, Stella Sandford argues that an over-emphasis on ethics in the reception of Levinas's thought has concealed the basis and the details of his philosophical project.

The Metaphysics of Love traces Levinas's philosophy through a detailed discussion of the neglected Levinasian themes of eros, sexual difference, the "feminine" maternity, fecundity, paternity and fraternity, demonstrating the ultimate impossibility of his metaphysical enterprise. Arguing against this attempt to deploy phenomenology in the service of a metaphysics of transcendence, Sandford's book is, at the same time, a powerful feminist critique of both Levinas's gendered philosophical categories and the attempt to reclaim aspects of his philosophy for feminist theory.

Race and ethnicity have become two of the most loaded and contested concepts in teh contemporary world. Philosophies of Race and Ethnicity aims to disentangle this complexity and guide the reader to a clearer understanding of the debates. Analysing the genealogy, meanings and political uses of the concepts of race and ethnicity, Philosophies of Race and Ethnicity draws on the best scholarship from philosophy, history, post-colonial studies, political theory and literary studies to explore the structure, status and scope of these concepts. Contributors: Linda Martin Aicoff, Chetan Bhatt, Rey Chow, Rebecca Karl, David Macey, Naoki Sakai, Bill Schwarz, Denise da Silva, Francolse Verges, Robert J. C. Young