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Philosopher Alain De Botton Hopes To Revolutionise Sex Lives With 'Better Porn'

Huffington Post UK  |  By Posted: Updated: 18/05/2012 17:38

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Can porn ever be philosophical?

A philosopher is setting out to conquer 'brutish stupid' porn by launching a website featuring 'nobler' erotica.

Despite the popularity of books such as Fifty Shades Of Grey, philosopher Alain de Botton wants to differentiate his 'new kind of porn' from 'elusive' erotica.

But he also wants to maintain the X-rated physicality of current porn for his website, named "Better Porn."

"Erotica realises there is a problem with porn and locates the issue in explicitness. If only porn were less explicit - the argument seems to run - then it would be OK. Better Porn starts from a different point of view", De Botton argues.

He aims to gather together a group of leaders in porn to launch his website, and hopes that his saucy smut will appeal to brains as well as, ahem, more primal urges.

Orgasming with 'Better Porn' should provide a union of body and mind, de Botton insists.

He describes success as "a site that parents would feel comfortable with their sons or daughters accessing at a certain age without particular shame" as well as something "fit for thoughtful, good human beings".

As part of the School of Life tour he is looking into how humans can leave behind current pornography.

Most porn "is so far removed from all the other concerns which a reasonably sensible, moral, kind and ambitious person might have." claims De Botton.

Drawing on inspiration from the Ancient Greeks, De Botton hopes not to ban porn but to have it "harnessed to what is noblest in us."

Is such a thing possible? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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A philosopher is setting out to conquer 'brutish stupid' porn by launching a website featuring 'nobler' erotica. Despite the popularity of books such as Fifty Shades Of Grey, philosopher Alain de B...
A philosopher is setting out to conquer 'brutish stupid' porn by launching a website featuring 'nobler' erotica. Despite the popularity of books such as Fifty Shades Of Grey, philosopher Alain de B...
 
 
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Susana Mayer
44 Fans
06:02 PM on 05/21/2012
At the Erotic Literary Salon I try to steer clear of the terminologies porn and erotica. Yes, it is the name, since the public library wouldn't place my flyers in the lobby if sex or porn were on the front. But at the live Salon, nothing is censored and no judgement is conferred upon piece with words such as pornography or erotica. Sensexual, the combining of sensual and sexual leave it up to the reader to decide. Then there is good and bad writing, which are not impacted by whether it is porn or erotica, but how well the author writes.
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topmast
6 Fans
02:26 PM on 05/20/2012
Although an admirer and reader of Mr de Botton I think here he is quite off his chump.Or could he be pulling our collective leg?
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Vapula
Failure is not an option
1711 Fans
12:24 AM on 05/20/2012
To the ancient Greeks all sorts of sex was considered OK. Socrates seems to have had a predilection for young boys. Whether his association extended to the sexual is not clear so it is also not clear how and why the Ancient Greeks should be mimicked when it comes to matters sexual.
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J-Sun9
57 Fans
11:42 PM on 05/19/2012
He's always been a bit of a w***er so it's logical. :)
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vividrick
I came, I saw...I had a cup of tea!
487 Fans
12:26 PM on 05/19/2012
You mean the plumber will finally get to fix the problem under the sink as well???

Wow, bring it on lol, I need to hone up my skills.
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gpward68
13 Fans
10:50 AM on 05/19/2012
I don't like De Botton, but I admire him for putting his money where his mouth is. A lot hinges on whether 'intelligent' 'erotica' actually squares with explicitness. Does he mean softcore, and can that compete? Does he mean having more of a story? Does he mean that the performers should wear better lingerie? Does he mean having fewer close ups of genitalia?

There's actually quite a lot of 'glamour'/'erotica'/softcore material on the net, that is a long way from the often humiliating extremes.You just need to look for it, if that's your cup of tea. The sites seem to be surviving, but the market is dominated by other antics that I won't list for fear of getting my comment removed!

These things are driven by demand - 1970s arthouse and grindhouse films experimented in just the way that De Botton is proposing, but as they were supplanted by VCR, they concentrated more on the 'meat and two veg', because that's what sold. The internet is different because one click leads to another to another - a bit like reading Sade's 120 Days of Sodom - indefinitely, and it is perhaps the obsessive nature of this process that leads to the 'brutishness' that De Botton decries.

This smacks slightly of intellectuals tutting at the excesses of the plebs, but I wish him luck and admire him for sticking his neck out. But I hope that's all he sticks out: I pray he doesn't appear in one of his productions.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
George McAulay
Delighted to meet you
958 Fans
10:07 AM on 05/19/2012
I'm gonna get a job as a pool cleaner!
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bankerscausedthecrash
2 Fans
07:20 AM on 05/19/2012
Porn movies from the eighties have a more 'erotic' thrust, so to speak; there was a decent budget and a bit of a story. The modern stuff is simply cheap and nasty meat grinding, literally.Unwatchable for all but apes. I have reached this conclusion as an investigative mind searching for truth rather than as a user, you understand. I think there could be a market for bringing back erotocism - interesting experiment.
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MsNaughty
1 Fans
01:53 AM on 05/19/2012
There's already a lot of quality, ethical porn being made. Search for feminist porn or look at the sites I have listed at pornmoviesforwomen.com.

Also, if Alain isn't going to shoot his own porn, lets hope he pays well. Indie pornographers are currently struggling thanks to rampant piracy so it will be nice to get a bit of extra cash.
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bigfletch
20 Fans
01:04 AM on 05/19/2012
Just made a mistake by investing in a dairy company. Though it said Butter Porn. Bugger!!!
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jmmcmkn
213 Fans
10:22 PM on 05/18/2012
"A great philosopher once wrote "naughty naughty, very naughty"......according to Mr. C of the Shamen. ...Go for it Alain and best of luck, I think this idea will be a real hoot.
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mmartini54
Roll on 2015!
324 Fans
08:52 PM on 05/18/2012
De Botton enjoys publicity. He courts controversy for his own ends - it keeps his profile up, makes him a living. Yet he's a rather boring, pointless personality. Feeble 'intellectuals' like this choose to witter on about 'bad' and 'good' porn, 'bad' and 'good' atheists, when the majority of the world's population don't have enough to eat.
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Sickofpoliticians2
239 Fans
06:47 PM on 05/18/2012
Hard core porn versus the British "Glamour" mag. He's about to lose his money as every glamour magazine editor can tell you, sales dropped right off on the soft porn market as the internet took hold, signing up to cheeky websites for a fee isn't going to happen while the hard stuff and soft stuff is on there for free, even if it does destroy your computer. The old saying about a fool and his money couldn't be more apt in this case.
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