120,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

We're Moving! 🚚 We’ll be closed Fri, Sat & Sun. Open and Shipping again on Monday πŸš€

Love Troubles

A Philosophy of Eros
Brief Description
What does it mean to love? Does love complete us, giving us purpose and meaning? Or does it tie us down and even harm us? Is erotic desire complicit in oppression, or could it deliver liberation? Are our desires extricable from the wrongs of our societies?... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$6699
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 3-4 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

This book develops a critical theory of sexual love and friendship, offering profound new ways to understand the troublesome nature of eros.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

What does it mean to love? Does love complete us, giving us purpose and meaning? Or does it tie us down and even harm us? Is erotic desire complicit in oppression, or could it deliver liberation? Are our desires extricable from the wrongs of our societies? And in today's world, is love still worth the trouble?

This book develops a critical theory of sexual love and friendship, offering profound new ways to understand the troublesome nature of eros. Federica Gregoratto explores the ambivalence of erotic love, which is at once intimately interwoven with heterosexism, racism, and neoliberal capitalism yet entices us with the tantalising possibility of transformation.

Drawing on a rich array of sourcesβ€”from Frankfurt School critical theory to feminist thought and contemporary philosophies of emotions and affects, as well as poetry, novels, films, and musicβ€”she argues that love provides unexpected resources for political agency, resistance, and emancipation.

Gregoratto makes a passionate defence of erotic freedom as an adventurous process through which we understand, together with others, who we are and who we want to become, both in our individual existences and in our social lives. Wide-ranging and daring, Love Troubles invites us to reflect on our fraught amorous experiences, showing why we should cherish and learn from them.

Series: New Directions in Critical Theory

View all
  • Crisis Under Critique
    The word "crisis" denotes a break, a discontinuity, a ruptureβ€”a moment after which the normal order can continue no longer. Yet our political vocabulary today is suffused with the rhetoric of crisis, to the point that supposed abnormalities have been normalized. How can the notion of crisis be rethought in order to take stock ofβ€”and challengeβ€”our understanding of the many...
    Paperback
    $7599
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • Pathologies of Reason
    Axel Honneth has been instrumental in advancing the work of the Frankfurt School of critical theorists, rebuilding their effort to combine radical social and political analysis with rigorous philosophical inquiry. These eleven essays reclaim the relevant themes of the Frankfurt School, which counted Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin, JΓΌrgen Habermas, Franz Neumann, and Albrecht Wellmer as members. They...
    Paperback
    $4599
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • Selected Writings on Media, Propaganda, and Political Communication
    Siegfried Kracauer stands out as one of the most significant theorists and critics of the twentieth century, acclaimed for his analyses of film and popular culture. However, his writing on propaganda and politics has been overshadowed by the works of his contemporaries and colleagues associated with the Frankfurt School. Selected Writings on Media, Propaganda, and Political Communication brings together a...
    Paperback
    $5299
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • The Political Clinic
    The Political Clinic by Carolyn Laubender is the Winner of the 2025 Book Prize of the American Psychoanalytic Association. For decades, psychoanalysis has provided essential concepts and methodologies for critical theory and the humanities and social sciences. But it is also, inseparably, a clinical practice and technique for treatment. In what ways is clinical practice significant for critical thought? What...
    Paperback
    $11800
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • Ambivalent Recognition
    Recognition has become one of the key concepts of contemporary critical theory, heralded by thinkers such as Axel Honneth and Charles Taylor. It is widely claimed that a person must be recognised by others to realise their own identity and that the lack of recognition constitutes a form of oppression or injustice. Is recognition always a good thing? In this...
    Paperback
    $10400
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • Fascist Mythologies
    For fascism, myth was realityβ€”or was realer than the real. Fascist notions of the leader, the nation, power, and violence were steeped in mythic imagery and the fantasy of transcending history. A mythologised primordial past would inspire the heroic overthrow of a debased present to achieve a violently redeemed future. What is distinctive about fascist mythology, and how does this...
    Paperback
    $5299
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • JΓΌrgen Habermas
    JΓΌrgen Habermas is Germany's most important postwar philosopher, the leading figure of the Frankfurt School in this period. He is best known for the concept of the public sphere, which forms the basis of his communicative understanding of democratic politics. Habermas has not only theorized the public sphere-he has also taken part in it through frequent commentary on current social,...
    Paperback
    $13300
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • Subaltern Silence
    Subordination did not simply fade away in the aftermath of colonialism. Instead, this illuminating book shows, a host of subtle new techniques have arisen that dominate vast categories of people by rendering them silent. Kevin Olson investigates how contemporary societies silence the subaltern: sometimes a literal silencing, often a metaphor for other ways of making people unheard. Such forms of...
    Paperback
    $6699
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • Left-Wing Melancholia
    The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of the Cold War but also the rise of a melancholic vision of history as a series of losses. For the political left, the cause lost was communism, and this trauma determined how leftists wrote the next chapter in their political struggle and how they have thought about their past since....
    Paperback
    $4999
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • Social Acceleration
    Hartmut Rosa advances an account of the temporal structure of society from the perspective of critical theory. He identifies three categories of change in the tempo of modern social life: technological acceleration, evident in transportation, communication, and production; the acceleration of social change, reflected in cultural knowledge, social institutions, and personal relationships; and acceleration in the pace of life, which...
    Paperback
    $6099
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • Ambivalent Recognition
    Recognition has become one of the key concepts of contemporary critical theory, heralded by thinkers such as Axel Honneth and Charles Taylor. It is widely claimed that a person must be recognized by others in order to realise their own identity and that the lack of recognition constitutes a form of oppression or injustice. Is recognition always a good thing?...
    Hardback
    $36400
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • JΓΌrgen Habermas
    JΓΌrgen Habermas is Germany's most important postwar philosopher, the leading figure of the Frankfurt School in this period. He is best known for the concept of the public sphere, which forms the basis of his communicative understanding of democratic politics. Habermas has not only theorized the public sphereβ€”he has also taken part in it through frequent commentary on current social,...
    Hardback
    $48000
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780231217637

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 21 January 2025

Country: United States

Imprint: Columbia University Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 280

About the Author

Federica Gregoratto is visiting associate professor of practical philosophy at the University of Lucerne. She has been a guest professor of philosophy at Freie UniversitΓ€t Berlin and a lecturer in social and political philosophy at the University of St. Gallen.

More from Philosophy & Psychology

View all
  • Eat Your Ice Cream
    On Sale
    12% off
    Eat Your Ice Cream
    The New York Times bestseller that presents a bold new vision for living well and ageing with purpose from a world-renowned health expert THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From a leading doctor and world-renowned health expert, the simple, uplifting and practical guide to cutting through the wellness noise, living well and ageing with purpose. β€˜Essential reading for anyone who...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Winner's Formula
    The Neuroscience of Peak Performance, Success, and Happiness Why do some people win all the time? Why do others languish? From Olympians to Formula 1 drivers, addicts to billionaires, cognitive neuroscientist Dr Kerry Spackman has spent decades working to help people understand how to succeed. In The Winner's Formula, Kerry explains what goes on in your brain when you are...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Inside the Box
    How to do more with less and use limits to stimulate creativity, innovation and collaboration, from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Range. We live in a world that gives us seemingly infinite choices and values freedom above all else. We have an unprecedented number of options regarding what to do, who to be and how to spend our time....
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3900
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Body Keeps the Score
    The Body Keeps the Score by Dr Bessel van der Kolk is a compelling and compassionate exploration of the deep-seated impact of trauma on the human body and mind. This groundbreaking work delves into the complex causes of trauma and paints a vivid picture of the revolutionary treatments that are enabling countless individuals to reclaim their lives filled with purpose...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Mauritau
    New Release
    Mauritau
    A journal to find balance with the 12 states of Mauri. Mauri is the pulse of wellbeing - the spark that makes you uniquely you. In Mauritau, clinical psychologist Jessica Gerbic introduces the 12 states of Mauri and shows how intentional awareness can guide your sense of balance across mind, body, spirit, environment and whānau. From Mauri Oho, a sudden...
    Hardback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Don't Believe Everything You Think (Expanded Edition)
    In this book, you'll discover the root cause of all psychological and emotional suffering and how to achieve freedom of mind to effortlessly create the life you've always wanted to live. Although pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. This book offers a completely new paradigm and understanding of where our human experience comes from, allowing us to end our own...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Tell Me Where It Hurts
    Leading expert Rachel Zoffness bridges the gap between medicine and psychology to get to the heart of treating pain We can move the dial on pain Every one of us will experience pain, be it back pain, the pain of childbirth, or living in an ageing body. Not a single one of us will escape. But what if everything you...
    Hardback
    $6500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four
    In the drab and oppressive world of 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell introduces us to Winston Smith, a man haunted by the omnipresent surveillance and control exercised by the Party and its enigmatic leader, Big Brother. Winston works diligently at the Ministry of Truth, where his job is to alter historical records to fit the ever-changing narrative dictated by the...
    Paperback
    $1299
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Better Never Stops
    Signed Copy
    New Release
    Better Never Stops
    The Art and Science of Continuous Improvement From delinquent to doctor, Paul Wood knows first-hand how far we can take our lives if we address what holds us back. At the age of 18, Wood was sent to New Zealand's toughest prison. Almost 11 years later, in 2006, he walked out a free man, escaping his past and becoming a...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Strong Ground
    #1Β New York TimesΒ bestselling author BrenΓ© Brown returns with an urgent call to reimagine the essentials of courageous leadership. In a time when uncertainty runs deep and bluster, hubris and even cruelty are increasingly framed as acceptable leadership, Brown delivers practical, actionable insights that illuminate the mindsets and skill sets essential to reclaiming focus and driving growth through connection, discipline and...
    Hardback
    $4000
    Elsewhere:
    $5500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Book of Awakening
    A new edition of the #1 NYT's bestseller by Mark Nepo, who has been called "one of the finest spiritual guides of our time" and "a consummate storyteller." Immerse yourself in The Book of Awakening, a compelling spiritual daybook by philosopher-poet and cancer survivor, Mark Nepo. This remarkable work is a profound manual for living a more deeply connected and...
    Paperback
    $3999
    Elsewhere:
    $4499
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Meditations for Mortals
    From the author of the global bestseller Four Thousand Weeks, a liberating four-week journey towards a saner, freer, more meaningful, more enchantment-filled life. Meditations for Mortals takes us on a liberating journey towards a more meaningful life - one that begins not with fantasies of the ideal existence, but with the reality in which we actually find ourselves. Addressing the...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.