Philosophy
Anthony Wiener is just the latest in an on-going string of political sex scandals. Is the correlation between politics and infidelity real or apparent? It seems there are four main possibilities:
1) The rate of inappropriate sexual behavior for politicians is higher than in the general population because the power and celebrity involved in being a politician creates more opportunities. Given more opportunities, it is natural that there will be more cases.
2) The rate of inappropriate sexual behavior for politicians is higher than in the general population because politics self-selects for a certain personality type which is more likely to engage in such behaviors. These are people who constantly seek self-aggrandizement and pursue their goals relentlessly and these tend to make infidelity more likely.
3) The rate of inappropriate sexual behavior for politicians is higher than in the general population because of the nature of the job. One is working very closely with a set of associates, often on the road with them, often away from family. The close-knit and care-based relationships that politicians have with their aides and staff and the large amount of time they spend away from their spouses leads to a larger number of instances.
4) The rate of inappropriate sexual behavior for politicians is not higher than in the general population. It just seems higher because your neighbor's affair does not make national or local news and so you may or may not know of it. Politicians are celebrities of a sort and the appearance comes from the fact that it gets reported and re-reported.
So, which is it?
- Sexual Orientation As Counterfactual
I sat in on our Gender and Identity class the other day and have been pondering this question: is sexual orientation a behaviorist notion (based on what you've done) or is it counterfactual (based on what you would do)? Determining what it means...
- What Is Sexual Orientation?
The George Rekers situation is good for more than just snark. His hiring of a male prostitute for massage purposes with no intercourse was meant to satisfy his urges while granting him plausible deniability that he is gay, after all, he would argue, he...
- An Immodest Proposal: Supply-side Feminomics
So I've been thinking... If you haven't seen Dean Friedman's "I Miss Monica," it's worth a look. A funny piece, but what really caught me was the line, "I miss the days before the stolen election, when the president didn't have to...
- Ogle Female Undergraduates At The University Of Colorado--don't
"Something Fishy in Colorado" by Ben Cohen February 7th, 2014 American Thinker Following a "site visit" by a team from the American Philosophical Association's "Committee on the Status of Women," The University of Colorado at Boulder announced they...
- Risky Business For "old Farts"
As if we old people had enough to worry about. "Viagra-popping seniors lead the pack for STDs" by Frederik Joelving July 6th, 2010 Reuters Even if you're past your prime and have a hard time getting an erection, you might still need to worry about...
Philosophy
Sex and Power
Anthony Wiener is just the latest in an on-going string of political sex scandals. Is the correlation between politics and infidelity real or apparent? It seems there are four main possibilities:
1) The rate of inappropriate sexual behavior for politicians is higher than in the general population because the power and celebrity involved in being a politician creates more opportunities. Given more opportunities, it is natural that there will be more cases.
2) The rate of inappropriate sexual behavior for politicians is higher than in the general population because politics self-selects for a certain personality type which is more likely to engage in such behaviors. These are people who constantly seek self-aggrandizement and pursue their goals relentlessly and these tend to make infidelity more likely.
3) The rate of inappropriate sexual behavior for politicians is higher than in the general population because of the nature of the job. One is working very closely with a set of associates, often on the road with them, often away from family. The close-knit and care-based relationships that politicians have with their aides and staff and the large amount of time they spend away from their spouses leads to a larger number of instances.
4) The rate of inappropriate sexual behavior for politicians is not higher than in the general population. It just seems higher because your neighbor's affair does not make national or local news and so you may or may not know of it. Politicians are celebrities of a sort and the appearance comes from the fact that it gets reported and re-reported.
So, which is it?
- Sexual Orientation As Counterfactual
I sat in on our Gender and Identity class the other day and have been pondering this question: is sexual orientation a behaviorist notion (based on what you've done) or is it counterfactual (based on what you would do)? Determining what it means...
- What Is Sexual Orientation?
The George Rekers situation is good for more than just snark. His hiring of a male prostitute for massage purposes with no intercourse was meant to satisfy his urges while granting him plausible deniability that he is gay, after all, he would argue, he...
- An Immodest Proposal: Supply-side Feminomics
So I've been thinking... If you haven't seen Dean Friedman's "I Miss Monica," it's worth a look. A funny piece, but what really caught me was the line, "I miss the days before the stolen election, when the president didn't have to...
- Ogle Female Undergraduates At The University Of Colorado--don't
"Something Fishy in Colorado" by Ben Cohen February 7th, 2014 American Thinker Following a "site visit" by a team from the American Philosophical Association's "Committee on the Status of Women," The University of Colorado at Boulder announced they...
- Risky Business For "old Farts"
As if we old people had enough to worry about. "Viagra-popping seniors lead the pack for STDs" by Frederik Joelving July 6th, 2010 Reuters Even if you're past your prime and have a hard time getting an erection, you might still need to worry about...