The Ethics of Eros

"The Ethics of Eros" sheds new light on contemporary feminist discourse by bringing into question some of the basic distinctions and categories of feminism. The work of Luce Irigaray serves as a focus for interrogating the opposition between French and Anglo-American feminism in the debate over essentialism. This work defends Irigaray against charges of essentialism by showing that such criticism fails to consider the theoretical background of her work. The author demonstrates that Irigaray inherited and attempted to move beyond the philosophical framework of Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida and Levinas. This study also reconsiders the sex/gender distinction that has been fundamental to feminist theory. By recasting the differences between French and Anglo-American feminism, the work aims to represent these views not as opposites, but as capable of productive exchanges. It explains how the debate over essentialism arose and reveals how essentialist misreadings of Irigaray gained currency in feminist theory.