Vain is the word of philosophy if it does not heal the human soul – Epicurus

Transformation, Healing and Discovering the Power of the Erotic

Welcome!

My name is Danielle A. Layne and the following is an experiment. Currently I am writing a book on the history of philosophical movements and currents of thought which attempt to revolutionize how individuals understand themselves and their power through a concept and embodied way of life which is often called erotic (though not all the authors and ideas I will discuss use this term explicitly). The book/website is roughly based off courses I teach at Gonzaga University, e.g. The Philosophy of Human Nature, Ancient Philosophy, Philosophy of Sex and Gender, Classical Critics of Democracy and Ancient Philosophical Therapy. As both a scholar of Plato and the Platonic tradition and an intersectional feminist, my hope is to popularize the theories of the erotic advanced from disparate voices so as to revitalize and transform a spiritual and intellectual tradition that has the potential to awaken the good not only in our confusing messy selves but also the good in such confusion. The erotic is learning to live with the both/and, to move beyond binary thinking and feeling and to find yourself at home while admitting you are still lost.

Enjoy the site and podcasts, oh and buy the book when it comes out!

I promise, we aren’t always this happy! Part of this site is about showing and accepting the struggles we experience even with the ones we love the most. Occasionally, though, we find moments of real joy, reprise from the tension and confusion, real connection and love as we each grow together.