Lust: The Seven Deadly Sins (New York Public Library Lectures in Humanities) PDF
Preview Lust: The Seven Deadly Sins (New York Public Library Lectures in Humanities)
Lust: The Seven Deadly Sins Simon Blackburn OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS http://avaxhome.ws/blogs/ChrisRedfield Lust.book Page i Wednesday, October 22, 2003 9:53 AM Lust Lust.book Page ii Wednesday, October 22, 2003 9:53 AM Pride Michael Eric Dyson Envy Joseph Epstein Anger Robert A. F. Thurman Sloth Wendy Wasserstein Greed Phyllis A. Tickle Gluttony Francine Prose Lust Simon Blackburn Lust.book Page iii Wednesday, October 22, 2003 9:53 AM F or over a decade, the New York Public Library and Oxford University Press have annually invited a prominent figure in the arts and letters to give a series of lectures on a topic of his or her choice. Subsequently these lectures become the basis of a book jointly published by the Library and the Press. For 2002 and 2003 the two institutions asked seven noted writers, scholars, and critics to offer a “meditation on temptation” on one of the seven deadly sins. Lust by Simon Blackburn is the third book from this lecture series. Previous books from the New York Public Library/Oxford University Press Lectures are: The Old World’s New World by C. Vann Woodward Culture of Complaint: The Fraying of America by Robert Hughes Witches and Jesuits: Shakespeare’s Macbeth by Garry Wills Visions of the Future: The Distant Past, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow by Robert Heilbroner Doing Documentary Work by Robert Coles The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet by Freeman J. Dyson The Look of Architecture by Witold Rybczynski Visions of Utopia by Edward Rothstein, Herbert Muschamp, and Martin E. Marty Lust.book Page iv Wednesday, October 22, 2003 9:53 AM Also by Simon Blackburn Being Good: An Introduction to Ethics Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy Ruling Passions: A Theory of Practical Reasoning The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy Essays in Quasi-Realism Spreading the Word: Groundings in the Philosophy or Language Edited Works Meaning, Reference, and Necessity (editor) Truth (with Keith Simmons) Lust.book Page v Wednesday, October 22, 2003 9:53 AM Lust The Seven Deadly Sins Simon Blackburn The New York Public Library 2004 Lust.book Page vi Wednesday, October 22, 2003 9:53 AM Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Copyright © 2004 by Simon Blackburn Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Blackburn, Simon. Lust : the seven deadly sins / Simon Blackburn p. cm. Based on a lecture series in the humanities hosted by the New York Public Library. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-19-516200-5 1. Lust—religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title. BV4627.L8B5852004 176—dc21 Simon Blackburn had asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work. Every effort has been made to observe copyright restrictions regarding the art work. Please notify Oxford University Press if you are aware of any infringement. Book design by planettheo.com 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Lust.book Page vii Wednesday, October 22, 2003 9:53 AM Contents EDITOR’S NOTE ix PREFACE xi INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE Desire 13 CHAPTER TWO Excess 21 CHAPTER THREE Two Problems from Plato 29 CHAPTER FOUR Stiff Upper Lips 41 CHAPTER FIVE The Christian Panic 49 CHAPTER SIX The Legacy 65 CHAPTER SEVEN What Nature Intended 69 Lust.book Page viii Wednesday, October 22, 2003 9:53 AM CHAPTER EIGHT Some Consequences 73 CHAPTER NINE Shakespeare versus Dorothy Parker 79 CHAPTER TEN Hobbesian Unity 87 CHAPTER ELEVEN Disasters 93 CHAPTER TWELVE Substitutions 103 CHAPTER THIRTEEN Evolution and Desire 111 CHAPTER FOURTEEN Overcoming Pessimism 127 CHAPTER FIFTEEN Farewell 133 NOTES 135 INDEX 143
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