Reviews
The Way of Awareness in Daoist Philosophy
James Giles’ book is well written and thoughtfully considered. The breadth of material it covers is impressive without being intimidating. The most stimulating aspect of this book was Giles’ concept of metaphysical awareness. Bringing psychology into dialogue with Daoist philosophy has shown itself to be a tremendously fruitful endeavour and given the wealth of ideas Daoism has about the human psyche, The Way of Awareness in Daoist Philosophy is the perfect place to begin exploring them. --The Philosophical Quarterly
The Way of Awareness in Daoist Philosophy provides a detailed and superbly skillful gloss on key texts of Daoist philosophy, making them part of the global conversation. The book begins with a survey of early Chinese philosophy, then discusses various thinkers at length, culminating with Neo-Daoism. Throughout, the work makes many references to Western philosophers and argues common problems. It is a brilliant and profound extension of the global philosophical palette to include a variety of Daoist positions. Besides engaging specialists with its revolutionary vision, the book is well tailored to the general reader and highly suitable for undergraduate courses in philosophy.—ROBERT CUMMINGS NEVILLE, PhD, Dean Emeritus, School of Theology, Boston University. Author of Defining Religion: Essays in Philosophy of Religion
This reader friendly book not only engages us in a better understanding of Daoist philosophy as awareness, the way of both generating and developing the mind; but also opens up a philosophical horizon for gaining perceptual clarity and furthering the contemporary discussion of consciousness, action, and free will.—ROBIN R. WANG, PhD, Professor of Philosophy, Loyola Marymount University. Author of Yinyang: The Way of Heaven and Earth in Chinese Thought and Culture
Dr Giles guides the reader along a fascinating and quite bold journey through early Daoist and Daoist related teachings, thinkers, texts and commentators. Throughout this journey a single thread is woven which indicates that the Dao or Way is awareness. Intertwined within this awareness is emptiness, a back and forth of stillness and constant flow which he calls the double return, and wuwei or non-action. Dr Giles argues that these early Daoist teachings regarding awareness and how it relates to the world can enhance and inform contemporary Western philosophy. It also may be seen as beneficial to simply living life. His book provides a clear path where one can make the first step. It is now time to make that first step!—ROBERT SANTEE, PhD, Director, MS Counseling Psychology, Chaminade University of Honolulu. Author of It’s Time for a Change: A Therapeutic Lifestyle Approach to Health and Well-Being
Sexual Essays: Gender, Desire, and Nakedness
James Giles’s Sexual Essays: Gender, Desire, and Nakedness offers a thought-provoking journey into sexuality studies. With his training in philosophy, Giles offers a unique humanistic framework for readers more commonly immersed in a social science perspective...I would recommend this book for an advanced sexuality and gender scholar who relishes an opportunity to engage in intellectual exercise. Giles certainly offers a fresh lens to the study of sexual desire and broaches topics on the periphery of sexuality studies. The book is an excellent catalyst for conversation and I found myself discussing the book with colleagues on multiple occasions.--Relationship Research News
Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure
Overall, this short book is an easy read that should be of interest to most sexologists. It should be accessible to a wide nonexpert audience. The author offers several intriguing hypotheses about the nature of sexual attraction.--PsycCRITIQUES
James Giles’ Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure makes a unique, interesting, and much-needed journey into blending an existing body of social scientific research with humanistic ways of knowing that includes experiential, non-empirical qualitative methods as well as original philosophic inquiry and excerpts from film, literature, and music. The resulting volume provides many good considerations for those who do empirical sexuality and relationship research as well as insights into ideas that would be difficult--if not impossible--to explore through traditional research methods.--Relationship Research News
This book is charming. Its author writes in a comfortable style that reminds you of a grand uncle, sitting in a leather chair, chatting about things that he has thought about for some time. The observations are laced with the latest social psychological evidence. The text is also one of a kind—very few scholars, surprisingly, have written so engagingly on the nature and varieties of sexual attraction.
--ELAINE HATFIELD, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Hawaii. Recipient of Distinguished Scientist Awards and past president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex. Co-author of Love, Sex, and Intimacy, Emotional Contagion, and Love and Sex.
Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure provides an in-depth, comprehensive, and nuanced analysis of this distinct form of attraction. With thought-provoking insights on every page, James Giles answers questions about sexual attraction you didn’t know you had. Highly recommended reading for those who want a smart, articulate, and engaging investigation of the diverse body of sexual attraction research.--HEIDI REEDER, PhD, Associate Professor of Communication, Boise State University. Author of Commit To Win: How to Harness the Four Elements of Commitment to Reach Your Goals, and Blogger for Psychology Today.
Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure is a wonderful follow-up to his previous, The Nature of Sexual Desire. Employing an engaging mix of philosophical, psychological, and literary analysis, James Giles will make you think deeply about this rarely explored phenomenon.--ROBERT SCOTT STEWART, PhD, Professor of Philosophy, Cape Breton University. Co-author of Philosophizing about Sex.
Ever wonder about sexual attraction and how it differs from other forms of attraction and sexual desire? Well, look no further. Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure, by James Giles (PhD), takes the reader on a fascinating journey to understand the personal, yet complex and multifaceted nature and experience of sexual attraction. The book is educational, illuminating, and colored with vivid quotes from interviews, as well as numerous examples from literature, music, internet videos, poetry, comics, relevant research citations, and historical data.--TERRI L. ORBUCH, PhD, Professor of Sociology, Oakland University; Research Professor, University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. Author of 5 Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage From Good to Great.
At a time when the internet and mixed-gender workplaces put us in daily contact with more people than any other generation in human history, we need to understand attraction far more than we do. Giles' book is a welcome step in that direction. Part psychology, part philosophy, and part anthropology, the book refers to a wide range of research and is a thought-provoking, enjoyable read. Many books discuss desire or arousal, but this book discusses both--and in the context of attraction, a terrific approach.
--MARTY KLEIN, PhD, Certified Sex Therapist, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Author of seven books about sex, including Sexual Intelligence.
No Self to be Found: The Search for Personal Identity
James Giles' work is a clear, well-informed investigation of the psychological subject in the analytic style. It aims to correct some misleading assumptions that have distorted discussion of personal identity by philosophers and psychologists for centuries.--Self and Identity
Giles has a gift of being able to express in an accessible manner very complex and at times technical arguments. He provides one of the best summaries of the literature of self and identity that I have seen recently. He wages his counter-arguments and lodges his criticisms of the positions with skill and insight. This is a book well worth taking seriously, if only as a test of any argument that proposes to defend a notion of the self and a meaningful personal identity. This book would be useful in graduate seminars in philosophical psychology, and it would be accessible to advanced undergraduates.--The Personalist Forum
The Nature of Sexual Desire
This readable and well-conceived book represents a lucid, synoptic assessment of a key and central feature of our humanity. Its approach is both comprehensive and systematic. It is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students in the social and behavioral sciences as well as philosophy, women's studies, and anthropology. The reader will find here a rich and creative synthesis of both intrapsychic and interpersonal aspects of sexual attraction, arousal, and response. A thoughtful selection of primary literature and important critical analysis of the methodology of human sexuality research enhance an explicitly humanistic agenda.—SANFORD LOPATER PhD, Professor of Psychology, Christopher Newport University , author (with Ruth Westheimer) of Human Sexuality: A Psychosocial Perspective.
[T]his book treats of the exquisite experience it studies so faithfully in a prose so elegant and direct that it has the makings of a classic destined to seduce generations of specialist and non-specialist readers.—JOHN LLEWELYN, BPhil, Retired Reader in Philosophy, University of Edinburgh. Author of The Rigor of a Certain Inhumanity, Margins of Religion, Seeing Through God, and other works.
A delightful examination of the way in which cross-cultural theorists, philosophers, and psychologists have viewed the nature of sexual desire. Although James Giles is not afraid to tackle difficult theoretical questions, his discussions are lightened by a sprinkling of charming quotes and genuine insights into human sexuality, gender, and the experience of love.—ELAINE HATFIELD, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Hawaii, past president for the Society of Scientific Study of Sex, co-author (with Richard Rapson) of Love and Sex: Cross-Cultural Perspectives.
Giles' spiritual understanding of sexual desire and his appreciation for the richness and exquisiteness of sexual interaction will be refreshing for those philosophers and sex therapists who believe that biological and physiological research dehumanize the joys of sexual desire and satisfaction.--Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy
The Nature of Sexual Desire presents a rich and thorough exploration of the subject matter that cuts across historical perspectives and issues of culture. The author draws on understandings from sexology, psychology, philosophy and anthropology and by so doing explores all relevant perspectives.--Sexual and Relationship Therapy
The philosophical analysis presented in the book is sure to stimulate critical thinking and encourage one to look at sexual desire from a multitude of perspectives. Giles has made a significant contribution to the literature, and the process of the examination in and of itself is worthwhile to gain insight into the nature of sexual desire.--Journal of Marriage and Family
[A]n original, intriguing and, I suspect, fecund account. Moreover, Giles does a masterful job of weaving together material from psychological, biological, and religious sources as well as philosophical ones…Giles covers a wealth of material and presents detailed, articulate arguments in support of his views. The Nature of Sexual Desire is well worth the read.--Metapsychology Online Reviews
[A]n excellent read that keeps the reader engrossed throughout.--British Journal of Sexual Medicine
If you are looking for a detailed analysis, from a multi-theoretical and philosophical perspective, on human sexual desire, this text stands alone for its innovative and comprehensive approach.--AIDS Care
The Nature of Sexual Desire is a comprehensive phenomenological analysis of sexual desire. James Giles explores the existential experience of desire at length to answer some of the most complex questions regarding the object of sexual desire. He provides a systematic reflection and phenomenological description of sexual desire that is a must read for sex educators, philosophers, researchers, and graduate students interested in sexuality. The reader is sure to obtain valuable insight on the problem and object of sexual desire as well as the experience of gender and love in relation to sexual desire.--Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity
[T]his book is highly recommendable for undergraduate students in psychology, anthropology, philosophy, communication studies, and women's studies, and an absolute "must-read" for all graduate students and researchers interested in sexuality and close relationships.--Relationship Research News
The Shell of When
James Giles's voice is distinctive in that he listens. These poems are ambiguous, reasoned, stringent and lucid. His handling of both pain and romantic love is very subtle - self-contained and open, achieved in a complete and unusual absence of ego. This work is timely in the context of love being there all along. In 'The Shell of When', for any reader, a single poem is a place of loopholes where each broken bit is surely yet a hymn to Venus.—DAWN WOOD, award winning poet. Author of Quarry, Connoisseur, and Hermes with Gift.
James Giles has written a collection of poems that is both profound and accessible. The author's knowledge of philosophy and psychology shines through in each poem but without becoming too clinical and academic. It is clear that Giles has the ability to see straight through to the marrow of human nature. With simple, yet poetical language, these poems address many of the emotions and experiences we all endure on our walk through life....Overall, this is a great little book, one I'm sure that I will find myself turning to when I need to put a face to the emotions and thoughts that are hard to capture outside of the elusive medium of poetry.—MARANDA RUSSELL. Author of Ode to Icky and Dare to be Real.
Online video review.—MAXMOEFOE, Youtuber.
The Way of Awareness in Daoist Philosophy
James Giles’ book is well written and thoughtfully considered. The breadth of material it covers is impressive without being intimidating. The most stimulating aspect of this book was Giles’ concept of metaphysical awareness. Bringing psychology into dialogue with Daoist philosophy has shown itself to be a tremendously fruitful endeavour and given the wealth of ideas Daoism has about the human psyche, The Way of Awareness in Daoist Philosophy is the perfect place to begin exploring them. --The Philosophical Quarterly
The Way of Awareness in Daoist Philosophy provides a detailed and superbly skillful gloss on key texts of Daoist philosophy, making them part of the global conversation. The book begins with a survey of early Chinese philosophy, then discusses various thinkers at length, culminating with Neo-Daoism. Throughout, the work makes many references to Western philosophers and argues common problems. It is a brilliant and profound extension of the global philosophical palette to include a variety of Daoist positions. Besides engaging specialists with its revolutionary vision, the book is well tailored to the general reader and highly suitable for undergraduate courses in philosophy.—ROBERT CUMMINGS NEVILLE, PhD, Dean Emeritus, School of Theology, Boston University. Author of Defining Religion: Essays in Philosophy of Religion
This reader friendly book not only engages us in a better understanding of Daoist philosophy as awareness, the way of both generating and developing the mind; but also opens up a philosophical horizon for gaining perceptual clarity and furthering the contemporary discussion of consciousness, action, and free will.—ROBIN R. WANG, PhD, Professor of Philosophy, Loyola Marymount University. Author of Yinyang: The Way of Heaven and Earth in Chinese Thought and Culture
Dr Giles guides the reader along a fascinating and quite bold journey through early Daoist and Daoist related teachings, thinkers, texts and commentators. Throughout this journey a single thread is woven which indicates that the Dao or Way is awareness. Intertwined within this awareness is emptiness, a back and forth of stillness and constant flow which he calls the double return, and wuwei or non-action. Dr Giles argues that these early Daoist teachings regarding awareness and how it relates to the world can enhance and inform contemporary Western philosophy. It also may be seen as beneficial to simply living life. His book provides a clear path where one can make the first step. It is now time to make that first step!—ROBERT SANTEE, PhD, Director, MS Counseling Psychology, Chaminade University of Honolulu. Author of It’s Time for a Change: A Therapeutic Lifestyle Approach to Health and Well-Being
Sexual Essays: Gender, Desire, and Nakedness
James Giles’s Sexual Essays: Gender, Desire, and Nakedness offers a thought-provoking journey into sexuality studies. With his training in philosophy, Giles offers a unique humanistic framework for readers more commonly immersed in a social science perspective...I would recommend this book for an advanced sexuality and gender scholar who relishes an opportunity to engage in intellectual exercise. Giles certainly offers a fresh lens to the study of sexual desire and broaches topics on the periphery of sexuality studies. The book is an excellent catalyst for conversation and I found myself discussing the book with colleagues on multiple occasions.--Relationship Research News
Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure
Overall, this short book is an easy read that should be of interest to most sexologists. It should be accessible to a wide nonexpert audience. The author offers several intriguing hypotheses about the nature of sexual attraction.--PsycCRITIQUES
James Giles’ Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure makes a unique, interesting, and much-needed journey into blending an existing body of social scientific research with humanistic ways of knowing that includes experiential, non-empirical qualitative methods as well as original philosophic inquiry and excerpts from film, literature, and music. The resulting volume provides many good considerations for those who do empirical sexuality and relationship research as well as insights into ideas that would be difficult--if not impossible--to explore through traditional research methods.--Relationship Research News
This book is charming. Its author writes in a comfortable style that reminds you of a grand uncle, sitting in a leather chair, chatting about things that he has thought about for some time. The observations are laced with the latest social psychological evidence. The text is also one of a kind—very few scholars, surprisingly, have written so engagingly on the nature and varieties of sexual attraction.
--ELAINE HATFIELD, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Hawaii. Recipient of Distinguished Scientist Awards and past president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex. Co-author of Love, Sex, and Intimacy, Emotional Contagion, and Love and Sex.
Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure provides an in-depth, comprehensive, and nuanced analysis of this distinct form of attraction. With thought-provoking insights on every page, James Giles answers questions about sexual attraction you didn’t know you had. Highly recommended reading for those who want a smart, articulate, and engaging investigation of the diverse body of sexual attraction research.--HEIDI REEDER, PhD, Associate Professor of Communication, Boise State University. Author of Commit To Win: How to Harness the Four Elements of Commitment to Reach Your Goals, and Blogger for Psychology Today.
Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure is a wonderful follow-up to his previous, The Nature of Sexual Desire. Employing an engaging mix of philosophical, psychological, and literary analysis, James Giles will make you think deeply about this rarely explored phenomenon.--ROBERT SCOTT STEWART, PhD, Professor of Philosophy, Cape Breton University. Co-author of Philosophizing about Sex.
Ever wonder about sexual attraction and how it differs from other forms of attraction and sexual desire? Well, look no further. Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure, by James Giles (PhD), takes the reader on a fascinating journey to understand the personal, yet complex and multifaceted nature and experience of sexual attraction. The book is educational, illuminating, and colored with vivid quotes from interviews, as well as numerous examples from literature, music, internet videos, poetry, comics, relevant research citations, and historical data.--TERRI L. ORBUCH, PhD, Professor of Sociology, Oakland University; Research Professor, University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. Author of 5 Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage From Good to Great.
At a time when the internet and mixed-gender workplaces put us in daily contact with more people than any other generation in human history, we need to understand attraction far more than we do. Giles' book is a welcome step in that direction. Part psychology, part philosophy, and part anthropology, the book refers to a wide range of research and is a thought-provoking, enjoyable read. Many books discuss desire or arousal, but this book discusses both--and in the context of attraction, a terrific approach.
--MARTY KLEIN, PhD, Certified Sex Therapist, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Author of seven books about sex, including Sexual Intelligence.
No Self to be Found: The Search for Personal Identity
James Giles' work is a clear, well-informed investigation of the psychological subject in the analytic style. It aims to correct some misleading assumptions that have distorted discussion of personal identity by philosophers and psychologists for centuries.--Self and Identity
Giles has a gift of being able to express in an accessible manner very complex and at times technical arguments. He provides one of the best summaries of the literature of self and identity that I have seen recently. He wages his counter-arguments and lodges his criticisms of the positions with skill and insight. This is a book well worth taking seriously, if only as a test of any argument that proposes to defend a notion of the self and a meaningful personal identity. This book would be useful in graduate seminars in philosophical psychology, and it would be accessible to advanced undergraduates.--The Personalist Forum
The Nature of Sexual Desire
This readable and well-conceived book represents a lucid, synoptic assessment of a key and central feature of our humanity. Its approach is both comprehensive and systematic. It is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students in the social and behavioral sciences as well as philosophy, women's studies, and anthropology. The reader will find here a rich and creative synthesis of both intrapsychic and interpersonal aspects of sexual attraction, arousal, and response. A thoughtful selection of primary literature and important critical analysis of the methodology of human sexuality research enhance an explicitly humanistic agenda.—SANFORD LOPATER PhD, Professor of Psychology, Christopher Newport University , author (with Ruth Westheimer) of Human Sexuality: A Psychosocial Perspective.
[T]his book treats of the exquisite experience it studies so faithfully in a prose so elegant and direct that it has the makings of a classic destined to seduce generations of specialist and non-specialist readers.—JOHN LLEWELYN, BPhil, Retired Reader in Philosophy, University of Edinburgh. Author of The Rigor of a Certain Inhumanity, Margins of Religion, Seeing Through God, and other works.
A delightful examination of the way in which cross-cultural theorists, philosophers, and psychologists have viewed the nature of sexual desire. Although James Giles is not afraid to tackle difficult theoretical questions, his discussions are lightened by a sprinkling of charming quotes and genuine insights into human sexuality, gender, and the experience of love.—ELAINE HATFIELD, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Hawaii, past president for the Society of Scientific Study of Sex, co-author (with Richard Rapson) of Love and Sex: Cross-Cultural Perspectives.
Giles' spiritual understanding of sexual desire and his appreciation for the richness and exquisiteness of sexual interaction will be refreshing for those philosophers and sex therapists who believe that biological and physiological research dehumanize the joys of sexual desire and satisfaction.--Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy
The Nature of Sexual Desire presents a rich and thorough exploration of the subject matter that cuts across historical perspectives and issues of culture. The author draws on understandings from sexology, psychology, philosophy and anthropology and by so doing explores all relevant perspectives.--Sexual and Relationship Therapy
The philosophical analysis presented in the book is sure to stimulate critical thinking and encourage one to look at sexual desire from a multitude of perspectives. Giles has made a significant contribution to the literature, and the process of the examination in and of itself is worthwhile to gain insight into the nature of sexual desire.--Journal of Marriage and Family
[A]n original, intriguing and, I suspect, fecund account. Moreover, Giles does a masterful job of weaving together material from psychological, biological, and religious sources as well as philosophical ones…Giles covers a wealth of material and presents detailed, articulate arguments in support of his views. The Nature of Sexual Desire is well worth the read.--Metapsychology Online Reviews
[A]n excellent read that keeps the reader engrossed throughout.--British Journal of Sexual Medicine
If you are looking for a detailed analysis, from a multi-theoretical and philosophical perspective, on human sexual desire, this text stands alone for its innovative and comprehensive approach.--AIDS Care
The Nature of Sexual Desire is a comprehensive phenomenological analysis of sexual desire. James Giles explores the existential experience of desire at length to answer some of the most complex questions regarding the object of sexual desire. He provides a systematic reflection and phenomenological description of sexual desire that is a must read for sex educators, philosophers, researchers, and graduate students interested in sexuality. The reader is sure to obtain valuable insight on the problem and object of sexual desire as well as the experience of gender and love in relation to sexual desire.--Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity
[T]his book is highly recommendable for undergraduate students in psychology, anthropology, philosophy, communication studies, and women's studies, and an absolute "must-read" for all graduate students and researchers interested in sexuality and close relationships.--Relationship Research News
The Shell of When
James Giles's voice is distinctive in that he listens. These poems are ambiguous, reasoned, stringent and lucid. His handling of both pain and romantic love is very subtle - self-contained and open, achieved in a complete and unusual absence of ego. This work is timely in the context of love being there all along. In 'The Shell of When', for any reader, a single poem is a place of loopholes where each broken bit is surely yet a hymn to Venus.—DAWN WOOD, award winning poet. Author of Quarry, Connoisseur, and Hermes with Gift.
James Giles has written a collection of poems that is both profound and accessible. The author's knowledge of philosophy and psychology shines through in each poem but without becoming too clinical and academic. It is clear that Giles has the ability to see straight through to the marrow of human nature. With simple, yet poetical language, these poems address many of the emotions and experiences we all endure on our walk through life....Overall, this is a great little book, one I'm sure that I will find myself turning to when I need to put a face to the emotions and thoughts that are hard to capture outside of the elusive medium of poetry.—MARANDA RUSSELL. Author of Ode to Icky and Dare to be Real.
Online video review.—MAXMOEFOE, Youtuber.
