James Giles (born 1958) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual
Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the pre ...
. He has written about
personal identity
Personal identity is the unique numerical identity of a person over time. Discussions regarding personal identity typically aim to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions under which a person at one time and a person at another time ca ...
and the
self
The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhoo ...
,
[James B. Sauer (1997)]
''No Self to be Found: The Search for Personal Identity'' by James Giles (review)
''The Personalist Forum'' 13 (2, Fall 1997): 321–325. mindfulness,
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and
Daoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...
philosophy, and has published theories of the reason for human hairlessness,
[ .n.(8 June 2011)]
Naked love - A gripping new theory
. La Trobe University Bulletin. Accessed March 2014. the nature of sexual desire,
[Robert Scott Stewart (25 August 2009)]
Review - ''The Nature of Sexual Desire'' by James Giles; University Press of America, 2008
''Metapsychology'' online reviews 13 (35). Accessed March 2014. sexual attraction, and gender.
Schooling and career
Giles studied at the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thr ...
(BA, MA) and at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
(PhD). In addition to teaching at UBC and Edinburgh, he has also taught at the
University of Aalborg
Aalborg University (AAU) is a Danish public university with campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen founded in 1974. The university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variety of subjects within humanitie ...
, the
University of Copenhagen, Denmark, Hawaii College of Kansai University, Japan, the
University of Guam
University of Guam ( ch, Unibetsedåt Guåhan) (U.O.G.) is a public land-grant university in Mangilao, Guam. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and offers thirty-four degree programs at the undergraduate level a ...
, and
La Trobe University, Australia. He now lectures in
psychology
Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...
at
Roskilde University
Roskilde University ( da, Roskilde Universitet, abbreviated RUC or RU) is a Danish public university founded in 1972 and located in Trekroner in the Eastern part of Roskilde. The university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD ...
in Denmark, and at the
Institute of Continuing Education
The University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education (ICE) is a department of the University of Cambridge dedicated to providing continuing education programmes which allow students to obtain University of Cambridge qualifications at un ...
, University of Cambridge.
Notable ideas
No-self theory
Giles takes
Hume's notion of personal identity being a fiction and develops it in terms of Buddhist accounts of no-self and theories of language. Giles points out that many theories of personal identity are reductive theories. They try to reduce the idea of personal identity to elements such as
memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remember ...
,
personality
Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, ...
, or
bodily continuity. The no-self theory, however, is an eliminative theory. That is, it eliminates the idea of personal identity altogether. He allows that we are sometimes aware of psychological and emotional states that seem to give immediate awareness of self. He argues, however, that what we are aware of at these times is not a persisting self, but rather a "constructed or condensed self-image", namely "a composite of related images and meanings referring to how I see myself at that moment". These moments, however, make only rare appearances in consciousness.
Metaphysics of awareness
In a radical interpretation of early
Daoist philosophy, Giles argues that the
Dao (Tao) has little to do with
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...
or
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...
. Rather, it refers to human
awareness
Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events. Another definition describes it as a state wherein a subject is aware of some in ...
. The Daoist accounts of return and non-action, says Giles, provide us with insights into the nature of awareness and how meditative states can co-exist within and thus underpin everyday awareness. This works through what he calls the double return, or a back and forth of stillness and constant flow of awareness. Giles compares this view of awareness with
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...
,
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
,
existentialist
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and value ...
, and analytic accounts of
philosophy of mind
Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the ontology and nature of the mind and its relationship with the body. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a number of other issues are add ...
in an "extension of the global philosophical palette".
Theory of sexual desire
Giles published his theory of
sexual desire
Sexual desire is an emotion and motivational state characterized by an interest in sexual objects or activities, or by a drive to seek out sexual objects or to engage in sexual activities. It is an aspect of sexuality, which varies significantly f ...
in ''The Nature of Sexual Desire'' in 2008.
Sexologist
Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism.
Sexologists a ...
s usually account for sexual desire either in terms of
social constructionism
Social constructionism is a theory in sociology, social ontology, and communication theory which proposes that certain ideas about physical reality arise from collaborative consensus, instead of pure observation of said reality. The theor ...
or as a biological characteristic essential to
reproduction
Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual or ...
. Giles rejects both these views, and attempts to show by a
phenomenological approach that sexual desire is an
existential
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
need
A need is dissatisfaction at a point of time and in a given context. Needs are distinguished from wants. In the case of a need, a deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome: a dysfunction or death. In other words, a need is something required for a ...
rooted in the
human condition
The human condition is all of the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered and analyzed f ...
, based on a feeling of incompleteness from the experience of one's own gender as a form of disequilibrium. Although the theory shows similarities to earlier theories such as those of
Thomas Nagel
Thomas Nagel (; born July 4, 1937) is an American philosopher. He is the University Professor of Philosophy and Law Emeritus at New York University, where he taught from 1980 to 2016. His main areas of philosophical interest are legal philosophy, ...
on
sexual perversion, or of
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his ...
on
romantic love
Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions.
The ''Wiley Blackwell Encyc ...
in
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
's ''
Symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...
'',
[ Giles' core thesis is quite distinct. This is the idea that sexual desire is just the desire for mutual baring and caressing. Baring and caressing are thus the true objects of sexual desire.
]
Vulnerability and care theory of love
The ''vulnerability and care theory of love'' was put forward by Giles in an article entitled "A Theory of Love and Sexual Desire" (1994) and later developed in his book ''The Nature of Sexual Desire'' (2004). Giles also presents his theory in a TEDx Talk'. According to Giles, romantic love is a complex of reciprocal desires for mutual vulnerability and care. One desires to be vulnerable before the beloved in order that the beloved may show care. At the same time one desires that the beloved be vulnerable before oneself in order that one may care for them. Although vulnerability has often been thought to be an unavoidable and perhaps unwanted consequence of love, Giles sees it as being an essential object of the desires of love.
His theory has been discussed by scholars Dr. Ruth Westheimer
Karola Ruth Westheimer ( Siegel; born June 4, 1928), better known as Dr. Ruth, is a German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper.
Westheimer was born in Germany to a Jewish fam ...
, in her textbook ''Human Sexuality: a Psychosocial Perspective'' (2002), Dr. Barbara Keesling, in her book ''Sexual Pleasure: Reaching New Heights of Sexual Arousal'' (2005)., and Natasha McKeever in ''Romantic Love and Monogamy: A Philosophical Exploration'' (2014).
Sexual attraction
In ''Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure'', Giles claims that the experience of sexual attraction has been ignored by scholars or confused with sexual desire. While sexual desire is an urge that is experienced as coming from within, sexual attraction is felt to have its locus in the attractive person. This experience has three components:
*feeling drawn towards the attractive person, much like being drawn by a magnetic quality
*a sense of helplessness in being drawn towards the person
*sexual fantasies about erotic interaction with the person.
Naked love theory
Giles published his "naked love theory" of human hairlessness
Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals.
The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fin ...
in 2010.[James Giles (2010). "Naked love: The evolution of human hairlessness". ''Biological Theory'' 5: 326–336.] He postulated that hairlessness in human beings evolved as a result of the pleasure
Pleasure refers to experience that feels good, that involves the enjoyment of something. It contrasts with pain or suffering, which are forms of feeling bad. It is closely related to value, desire and action: humans and other conscious animals ...
of skin-to-skin contact between mother and child, and thus ultimately as a consequence of bipedalism
Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' 'double' ...
. With all other primates
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter including ...
, the infant clings to the mother's fur with its hands and feet. However, with the advent of bipedalism, ancestral human infants lost the ability to cling to their mothers with their feet, which became adapted for walking rather than grasping. Ancestral mothers who were bipedal could compensate for this by holding their infants with their newly freed arms. But carrying an infant is much work. Anything that motivated the mother to carry her infant would thus have been selected for. Naked skin was one such adaptation. Mothers with a hairless mutation, who passed this on to their infants, would have been motivated to hold the infant by the sensual pleasure of skin-to-skin contact. This is the basis of what Giles calls maternal selection for hairless infants. This selection process would have been further driven by sexual selection for hairless sex partners, sex partners who would remind the individual of the sensual contact of infancy. The naked love theory thus explains why women and children are more hairless that adult males. For hairlessness has its origins in the mother-child relationship. According to Giles, naked skin is a precondition for the appearance of romantic love
Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions.
The ''Wiley Blackwell Encyc ...
.[James Giles (8 May 2012), "Hairless skin and romantic love". ''Science of Relationships'',https://www.luvze.com/hairless-skin-and-romantic-love-the-naked-love-theory/]
Books
* ''The Way of Awareness in Daoist Philosophy'', St. Petersberg, Florida: Three Pines Press, 2020.
* ''Sexual Essays: Gender, Desire, and Nakedness'', Lanham: Hamilton Books, 2017.
* ''Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure'', Santa Barbra: ABC-Clio, 2015.
* ''The Shell of When'', Windways Press/Lulu.com, 2011.
* ''Kierkegaard and Japanese Thought'' (Ed.), Basingstoke, UK and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
* ''The Nature of Sexual Desire'', Connecticut: Praeger, 2003
* ''Kierkegaard and Freedom'' (Ed.), Basingstoke, UK and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000.
* ''French Existentialism: Consciousness, Ethics, and Relations with Others'' (Ed.), Amsterdam and Atlanta : Rodopi, 1999.
* ''No Self to be Found: The Search for Personal Identity'', Lanham: University Press of America, 1997.
* ''A Study in Phenomenalism'', Aalborg, Denmark: Aalborg University, 1994.
See also
*Phenomenalism
In metaphysics, phenomenalism is the view that physical objects cannot justifiably be said to exist in themselves, but only as perceptual phenomena or sensory stimuli (e.g. redness, hardness, softness, sweetness, etc.) situated in time and in ...
References
Further reading
* James Giles (1994)
"A Theory of Love and Sexual Desire"
''Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour'' 24: 339–357. .
* James Giles, ''The Nature of Sexual Desire'', Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2004 / Lanham, MD: University Press of America
University Press of America is an academic publisher based in the United States. Part of the independent Rowman & Littlefield
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the ...
, 2008.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, James
1958 births
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