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Pornography, the Theory: What Utilitarianism Did to Action

by Frances Ferguson

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Pornography, Utility, and the Literary Weight of Action

$38.31 USD
$38.31 USD $38.31 USD

Paperback New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Pornography, Utility, and the Literary Weight of Action

Frances Ferguson links the emergence of pornography in late eighteenth-century western Europe to utilitarian thought, examining how both frameworks privilege actions and their social usefulness over stable individual identity. Her argument unfolds through readings of works by Sade, Flaubert, Lawrence, and Bret Easton Ellis, using literary representation to consider how action becomes concrete, legible, and socially valued. Positioned at the intersection of literary criticism and intellectual history, the book treats pornography not simply as a genre or subject but as a lens for investigating utilitarian ideas about persons, conduct, and social structures.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in literary criticism connecting philosophy and cultural forms
  • Students of utilitarianism, intellectual history, or the history of pornography
  • Readers seeking criticism centered on Sade, Flaubert, Lawrence, and Bret Easton Ellis

Themes

UtilitarianismPornographyAction and identityLiterary representationSocial value

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Book overview

Pornography first developed in western Europe during the late eighteenth century in tandem with the rise of utilitarianism, the philosophical position that stresses the importance of something's usefulness over its essence. Through incisive readings of Sade, Flaubert, Lawrence, and Bret Easton Ellis, Frances Ferguson here shows how pornography—like utilitarian social structures—diverts our attention from individual identities to actions and renders more clearly the social value of such actions through concrete literary representations.
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