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Controlling Love

The Ethics and Desirability of Using ‘Love Drugs'

Peter Herissone-Kelly author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:15th Sep '22

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Controlling Love cover

This Element presents an original argument for regarding the prospect of 'love drugs' with caution.

This Element presents an original argument for regarding the prospect of 'love drugs' with caution, and provides a careful dissection of the existing literature on the subject.Recent research in neurochemistry has shown there to be a number of chemical compounds that are implicated in the patterns of lust, attraction, and attachment that undergird romantic love. For example, there is evidence that the phenomenon of attachment is associated with the action of oxytocin and vasopressin. There is therefore some reason to suppose that patterns of lust, attraction, and attachment could be regulated via manipulation of these substances in the brain: in other words, by their use as 'love drugs'. A growing bioethical literature asks searching questions about this prospect, and especially about the use of such drugs to enhance or reignite attachment in flagging relationships. This Element examines some of the central arguments on the topic, and sounds a note of caution. It urges that there are reasons to think the states of attachment produced or facilitated by the use of such drugs would not be desirable.

ISBN: 9781009299053

Dimensions: 228mm x 152mm x 5mm

Weight: 120g

75 pages