Introduction — Alex Gregory
Part I. History of Thought on Desire
1. Desires in Classical Chinese Philosophy — Bongrae Seok
2. Desire in the Early Buddhist Tradition — Ian Kidd
3. Desire in Classical Greek Philosophy — Margaret Hampson
4. Desire in Medieval Philosophy — Francesco Orsi
5. Desire in Modern European Philosophy — Michael Walschots
Part II. Contemporary Theories of Desire
6. Causal Theories of Desire — David Hunter
7. Phenomenological Theories of Desire — Declan Smithies
8. Normative Theories of Desire — Alex Gregory
9. Neuroscientific Reward Theories of Desire — Jeremy Pober
10. Pure and Hybrid Theories of Desire — Neil Sinhababu
Part III. Varieties of Desire
11. Two Senses of Desire: Affective and Behavioral — Chris Heathwood
12. Desire, Aversion, and Preference — Jacob Barrett
13. Instrumental and Intrinsic Desire — Wooram Lee
14. Animal Desire — Walter Veit & Heather Browning
Part IV. Desire and the Mind
15. (How) Do Desires Explain Action? — Keshav Singh
16. Metaphysics of Desire — Umut Baysan
17. Self-Knowledge of Desire — Lauren Ashwell
18. Is Desire a Propositional Attitude? — Alex Grzankowski
19. Pleasure and Desire — Daniel Pallies
20. Desires, Fictions, and Fantasies — Amy Kind
21. Desire and Love — Monique Wonderly
22. Emotion and Desire — Michael Milona
Part V. Desire, Reasons, and Value
23. Normative Ethics and Desire — Garrett Cullity
24. Desire and Well-being — Jason Raibley
25. Wants, Needs, and Entitlements: The Role of Desire in Political Philosophy — Jessica Begon
26. Decision Theory and Desire — James Fanciullo
27. Rationality and Desire — Chrisoula Andreou
28. Responsibility for Desire — Alisabeth Ayars
29. Metaethics and Desire — Teemu Toppinen
30. Reasons for Action and Desire — Elizabeth Ventham
Part VI. Desire in Other Disciplines
31. Language and Desire — Kyle Blumberg
32. Desire and Psychology — Ashley Shaw
33. Desires in Economics — Lukas Beck
34. Desire in Artificial Intelligence — Patrick Butlin
35. Desire, Autonomy, and Respect in Healthcare — Dan Fogal & Ben Schwan
Biography
Alex Gregory is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton, UK. He is author of Desire as Belief (2021), and numerous articles on desires, reasons, and value, in venues such as Ergo, Utilitas, and The Australasian Journal of Philosophy. He has most recently published “Take in your Hen: Fittingness and Hedonic Adaptation”, in Philosophers’ Imprint 26 (2026).
Alex Gregory’s The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Desire is a fantastic achievement. The stellar cast of contributors and their chapters strike an exemplary balance between getting readers up to speed as well as breaking new ground. The collection traces the role and significance of desire in a number of historical philosophical traditions. It makes clear just how fascinating desire is as a topic of philosophical investigation in its own right and how important desire is in practical philosophy and to other disciplines. This volume will be of interest to those working across the history of philosophy, philosophy of mind and psychology, and practical philosophy. Many of the chapters fill gaps in the extant literature and will be much used in teaching and research alike.
Guy Fletcher, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
This is not only the first handbook focused on the philosophy of desire, but is also extremely comprehensive. It takes an inclusive view of the historical canon, covers both foundational and applied debates, and looks beyond philosophy to the sciences studying desire or applying concepts of desire. Alex Gregory has done a wonderful job organising this vast literature. I could not think of a better or more qualified person to put this together. All of this will make it a wonderful resource for anybody aiming to enter this field.
Johanna Thoma, Chair of Ethics at the University of Bayreuth, Germany.
