Raymond J. Noonan, Ph.D.
Adjunct Instructor, Fashion Institute of Technology
of the State University of New York (FIT-SUNY);
Director, SexQuest/The Sex Institute, NYC
P.O. Box 20166, New York, NY 10014
(212) 217-7460
E-mail: rjnoonan@SexQuest.com
Poster Presentation
Tuesday, May 16, 2000, 2:00-5:30pm
Westin Galleria and Oaks, Houston, TX
Program Abstract:
Purpose. Sexuality factors have important manifestations in the behavior of virtually all human beings in their biopsychosocial environments encompassing both work and leisure activities. At the same time, the systems involved in these functions are significantly changed by spaceflight, as shown by a 1998 ASEM [Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine] article reporting decreased sex drive in male astronauts while in space [Strollo, et al.]. Yet little research has focused on these and related issues, while the concept of “sex in space” elicits dismay in many quarters. Thus, numerous questions remain about the connections between physiological and psychosocial aspects of sexual functioning, the impact of and on intimate relationships between and among women and men, and their effects on extended spaceflight mission parameters. Method. Using the method of philosophical inquiry, an esoteric method considered an often-unarticulated precursor to empirical studies, I examined the epistemological beliefs surrounding sexuality factors and their potential impact on space-life-science and human-factors considerations based on both space and analog environments. Results. Numerous factors, both internal and external to national space programs, influence how the human sexuality complex (a complex-systems conceptualization derived from this study that stresses both the unity and interconnectedness of its diverse components) operates and how policymakers and researchers respond to it in various environments. Conclusions. Sexuality, like any natural human function, must be studied scientifically so that human beings may function in the most physically, psychologically, and socially effective manner possible. A systems approach to the human sexuality complex must be considered in formulating space missions, much as it has proven useful in other venues, and in the training and selection of astronauts. Further, advances in space medicine and psychology could well have implications for treatment of sexual problems on Earth, as well as provide insights into the sex and gender conundrums created by social constructionist excesses in contemporary public policy.The research on which this presentation is based was conducted in fulfillment of the author’s dissertation requirement for the degree of doctor of philosophy at New York University: A Philosophical Inquiry into the Role of Sexology in Space Life Sciences Research and Human Factors Considerations for Extended Spaceflight.
Learning Objective: As a result of participating in this presentation, participants will be able to identify at least three factors that have influenced the direction of sex-related studies in space and suggest at least three sex-related studies, with a rationale for why they might be done in the future.
Raymond J. Noonan, Ph.D.
Adjunct Instructor, Fashion Institute of Technology
of the State University of New York (FIT-SUNY);
Director, SexQuest/The Sex Institute, NYC
P.O. Box 20166, New York, NY 10014
(212) 217-7460
E-mail: rjnoonan@SexQuest.com
Paper Presentation
Sunday, November 12, 2000, 10:30am-12:30pm
Wyndham Orlando Resort, Orlando, FL
Short Program Abstract:
In the first comprehensive study of the issues and constraints surrounding the study of sex in space, the author analyzed the diverse interdisciplinary underpinnings that encompass sexuality. Using the method of philosophical inquiry, an esoteric method considered an often-unarticulated precursor to empirical studies, he elicited those factors that affect sex-related research in space—and, more importantly, Earth. He concluded that a systems approach to the human sexuality complex might prove useful in the biopsychosocial human environments of both Earth and space. In space, the systems involved are significantly changed by spaceflight, as shown by a 1998 Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine article reporting decreased sex drive in male astronauts while in space [Strollo, et al.] decreased sex drive in male astronauts while in space. Further, advances in space medicine and psychology could well have implications for treatment of sexual problems on Earth, as well as provide insights into the sex and gender conundrums created by social constructionist excesses in contemporary public policy.
Long Abstract:
Introduction. For over a decade, the author conducted the first comprehensive study of the issues and constraints surrounding the study of sex in space. This will be the first full presentation of his results at a meeting of sexologists since the study was completed. In it, he analyzed the diverse interdisciplinary underpinnings that encompass sexuality. He outlined ways in which sexuality factors have important manifestations in the behavior of virtually all human beings in their biopsychosocial environments encompassing both work and leisure activities on Earth. At the same time, the systems involved in the various sex-related functions are significantly changed by spaceflight, as shown by a February 1998 Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine journal article, which reported on a study by Strollo and his associates from Italy on the effect of microgravity on testicular androgen secretion in males. The study acknowledged that men’s sexual drive did decrease during spaceflight, which reversed itself postflight, the mechanism for which remains unclear because of unexpected levels of other hormones. Yet little additional research has focused on these and related issues to date, while the concept of “sex in space” elicits dismay in many quarters. This is particularly true among those whose functions intersect with the military and governmental aspects of the U.S. space program, bringing politics into focus as a critical factor impinging on the ability to do sex research in anticipation of future extended spaceflight or planetary colonization goals. Thus, numerous questions remain about the connections between physiological and psychosocial aspects of sexual functioning, the impact of and on intimate relationships between and among women and men, and their effects on extended spaceflight mission parameters.
Method. Using the method of philosophical inquiry, an esoteric method considered an often-unarticulated precursor to empirical studies, the author examined the epistemological beliefs surrounding sexuality factors and their potential impact on space-life-science and human-factors considerations based on both space and analog environments. He elicited those factors that affect sex-related research in space—and, more importantly, on Earth, for that is where our approach to sexuality in any environment begins.
Results. Numerous factors, both internal and external to national space programs, influence how the human sexuality complex (a complex-systems conceptualization derived from this study that stresses both the unity and interconnectedness of its diverse components) operates and how policymakers and researchers respond to it in various environments. In epistemological terms, support is given to the approach that similar research methods that seek to understand the human sexuality complex on Earth are justified in their use to gain an understanding of it in the isolated, confined, and hostile environment of space.
Conclusions. The author concluded that sexuality, like any natural human function, must be studied scientifically so that human beings may function in the most physically, psychologically, and socially effective manner possible. A systems approach to the human sexuality complex might prove useful in the biopsychosocial human environments of both Earth and space, and must be considered in formulating extended space missions, much as it has proven useful in other venues, and in the training and selection of astronauts. Further, advances in space medicine and psychology could well have implications for treatment of sexual problems on Earth, as well as provide insights into the sex and gender conundrums created by social constructionist excesses in contemporary public policy.
Raymond J. Noonan, Ph.D.
Adjunct Instructor, Fashion Institute of Technology
of the State University of New York (FIT-SUNY);
Director, SexQuest/The Sex Institute, NYC
P.O. Box 20166, New York, NY 10014
(212) 217-7460
E-mail: rjnoonan@SexQuest.com
CE Workshop U: 3 CEs
Sunday, November 12, 2000, 1:00-4:00pm
Wyndham Orlando Resort, Orlando, FL
Short Program Abstract:
Philosophical thought and writings about sexuality are not new. Throughout the ages, philosophers have sought to inquire into the mysteries of sexuality since Plato and Aristotle first wrote about the nature of the sexes and of friendship and love. Philosophy is about reason and rationality, so the dichotomy long influencing Western philosophers has been sex versus reason—sexuality versus rationality—with sexual passion being the antithesis of rational thinking. That has begun to change, with more professional philosophical writing on sexual matters taking place in the last 25 years than has occurred in the past two thousand. Within sexology, John Money has introduced the idea of sexosophy—the other half of the whole that includes sexology. This workshop will provide an in-depth look at the intersection of philosophy and sexuality, and the contributions that philosophical inquiry as a research method may make to our understanding of the human sexuality complex.
Long Abstract:
Philosophical thought and writings about sexuality are not new. Throughout the ages, philosophers have sought to inquire into the mysteries of sexuality since Plato and Aristotle first wrote about the nature of the sexes and of friendship and love. D. P. Verene, in his two editions of Sexual Love and Western Morality: A Philosophical Anthology (1972, 1995), has chronicled and anthologized the writings of many of history’s more important classical, medieval, modern, and contemporary philosophers who tackled various aspects of this difficult, yet persistently pervasive, subject. Reflecting the breadth of subjects subsumed within sexology, as well as of philosophy, he provided excerpts from the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Ovid, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Hume, Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Hegel, Sartre, Russell, de Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty, Marx and Engels, and others, as well as writers such as Freud and Foucault. Other notables who have addressed sexological matters have included Rousseau, J. S. Mill, and Kierkegaard. Within sexology, John Money has introduced the idea of sexosophy—the other half of the whole that includes sexology—which provides the philosophical underpinnings of sexology.
Within the past 25 years, too, there has also been a renewed philosophical interest in sex, with contemporary writers addressing such issues as homosexuality, monogamy, adultery, promiscuity, perversion, feminism, abortion, and the semantics of sex. In fact, this literature has expanded more in the past 25 years than it has in the last two thousand years. In 1977, reflecting that interest, the Society for the Philosophy of Sex and Love was organized as a section of the American Philosophical Association, at whose conferences the Society continues to meet and discuss pertinent papers of interest.
Historically, philosophers have avoided addressing sexual matters professionally, even if they may have been personally interested in it. This has often been attributed to the fact that the philosophical tradition has tended to reject the body and anything corporeal. As one writer put it, philosophers have been more comfortable with the philosophy of mind than with the philosophy of body. Philosophy, in the ancient Socratic tradition, is about subjecting human life to critical examination. In Plato’s “war” between philosophy and poetry, philosophy is said to have surrendered sex to the poets. Philosophy is about reason and rationality, so the dichotomy long influencing Western philosophers has been sex versus reason—sexuality versus rationality—with sexual passion being the antithesis of rational thinking. That has begun to change dramatically, and participants in this workshop will be exposed to some of the historical writings of well-known philosophers, as well as to more contemporary philosophical writing.
In the natural and social sciences, philosophical inquiry has been used as a research method to delve into new areas of knowledge. This workshop, which will combine lecture and small group discussions, will examine the intersection of philosophy and sexuality, and the contributions that philosophical inquiry as a research method may make to our understanding of the human sexuality complex—particularly those aspects that have been resistant to satisfactory resolution. Philosophical inquiry is often used when investigating a set of phenomena that lack a clearly defined conceptual base for whatever reasons. In addition, the nature of the questions asked, the complexity of the phenomena being studied, and the epistemological beliefs that surround the phenomenological data all may contribute to a decision to use philosophical inquiry. Answers that are found may then serve as a basis on which to begin developing other avenues of scientific inquiry. An example using a futuristic sexological question studied by the workshop leader will serve to show how philosophical inquiry was used in a recent study and its contribution to both future and present sexological theory.
Within the sexual sciences, for example, philosophical inquiry has begun to be accepted as a valuable and legitimate method of inquiry, with more dissertations using the method and, starting not too many years back, more papers being presented at some of our meetings than ever before. Marcuse’s (1962) Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud, originally published in 1955, seems to be the first such study that is still read today. Since then, books have appeared applying the method to evolution, homosexuality, and sex and love. Ruse (1988), in Homosexuality: A Philosophical Inquiry, in describing the aspects of philosophical inquiry that he used in his study, helps us to understand its nature more clearly:
Roughly speaking (very roughly speaking) philosophical inquiry seems to fall into two camps. On the one hand, there are what one might call epistemological concerns. People disagree about the nature of, and what they know about, the world, broadly conceived. There are questions about what constitutes good evidence for certain knowledge claims, how far knowledge can go, whether all real existence is of the same nature, and so forth. On the other hand, there are what one might call ethical concerns. These involve questions about what we ought and ought not to do. They get us into normative matters, that is, matters to do with human conduct. (p. x)In his study, Ruse discussed the epistemology of social constructionism in creating the artifact—a social construction—of the homosexual, so that the medical establishment of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries could wrest control over them from the Church.
In this, Ruse was supporting the ideology attributed to Michel Foucault (1978/1995), although it has philosophical antecedents, known as social constructionism, which describes how the perception of, for example, sexuality and gender differs according to time and place, and does so to support the political power and supremacy of the dominant elite as a means of social control. Money (1995), in Gendermaps: Social Constructionism, Feminism, and Sexosophical History, examined Foucault’s place in modern sexology and placed social constructionism, “postmodernism’s name for the nurture pole of the nature/nurture polarity” (p. 35), in direct opposition to essentialism (or biological determinism—nature in this dichotomy). Money further examined the use of Foucault’s social constructionism by some feminist and gay-activist groups (and scholars) to further their own political influence and agendas. Other contemporary issues in the philosophy of sex will be discussed as well.
To protect everyone from harm or embarrassment, no participants will be required to reveal personal information about themselves, or to participate in anything in which they feel uncomfortable.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
- Identify the major subdivisions of philosophy and some of the new and traditional philosophical problems that relate to sexuality.
- Recognize our sexosophical roots in the various philosophical traditions and some of the major philosophers who have examined them.
- Understand how philosophical inquiry as a research method can contribute to our understanding of the human sexuality complex.
- Describe how philosophical inquiry was applied to a novel sexological problem with potential future ramifications and its contribution to present-day theory.
For information, e-mail rjnoonan@SexQuest.com at SexQuest.
For information on AsMA and the conference, visit the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA)
For information on SSSS and the conference, visit the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS)
Return to Dr. Ray Noonan’s Dissertation Information Pages:
Volume 4 of the International Encyclopedia of Sexuality (IES4), including 17 new countries and places, Robert T. Francoeur, Ph.D., Editor, and Raymond J. Noonan, Ph.D., Associate Editor, published in May 2001 by Continuum International Publishing Group: Includes my chapter on “Outer Space,” which highlights cross-cultural sexuality issues that will have an impact on the human future in space, based partly on my dissertation. For the table of contents or more information, see the IES4 Web site: http://www.SexQuest.com/IES4/, including supplemental chapters available only on the Web. Order from amazon.com!
The latest on positive sexuality from the first book to address the issue: For anyone concerned about the increasingly negative ways in which sex is being portrayed in public life—and who wants to do something positive about it.
Now out of print, but available soon in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format! However, used copies might be available at amazon.com.
Contact Info:
Raymond J. Noonan, Ph.D.
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