Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
9-2021
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Philosophy
Advisor
David Papineau
Committee Members
Linda Martín Alcoff
Peter Godfrey-Smith
Miranda Fricker
Subject Categories
Cognition and Perception | Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Other Neuroscience and Neurobiology | Philosophy of Mind | Substance Abuse and Addiction
Keywords
Desire, Intention, Addiction, Sexual Desire, Cultural Norms, Action Control
Abstract
What is the nature of desire? In this dissertation I develop a theory of desire according to which desires are essentially enculturated states that play the role of presenting favorable outcomes that act as inputs to intention formation, and thereby intentional action. This analysis of desire debunks a common assumption shared by prominent accounts of desire in philosophy of mind, what can be called the dualist assumption: that bodily desires such as urges and appetites differ in kind from conceptual desires that are typically described as higher cognitive attitudes. I argue that the desires traditionally understood as bodily or appetitive are in fact conceptual, fundamentally social, and play the same role in cognition as do the desires traditionally characterized as more high-level. The dissertation develops this theory of desire through an analysis of two paradigmatically bodily desires: desires for drugs (specifically, addictive desires) and desires for sex. The theory is distinct from imperatival motivational views that claim desires motivate action directly, associationist theories that describe desires as reward events in the dopaminergic system, and “divided-mind” theories that argue there are two distinct kinds of desires that function within different innate motivational systems.
Recommended Citation
Lavallee, Zoey, "Desire, Culture, and the Body" (2021). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4591
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Included in
Cognition and Perception Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Other Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons, Philosophy of Mind Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons