Willy Pasini argues here that our frenzied desire to consume has resulted in the silencing of the most elementary of all desires — the wish to feel close to another human being and to create a feeling of intimacy. Some people live in asexual unions, while others plunge into a universe of uncontrolled and uncontrollable desires, which sometimes lead them to commit acts of sexual harassment, or even of sexual abuse. For some desire is overwhelming, for others it seems to be totally absent; some suffer from too much, others from too little. Among those who are sexually frustrated, many seek satisfaction in a myriad of fast commercial forms of eroticism such as phone sex and orgasm pills. Pasini argues that desire is much more than this and, after examining contemporary eroticism, he offers the keys to a new art of loving.

Willy Pasini is the founder of the European Federation of Sexology. He teaches psychiatry and medical psychology at the University of Geneva. He is the author of many works, including the following published by Editions Odile Jacob: A quoi sert le couple? (1996), Le Temps d’aimer (1997), Les Casse-pieds (2000) and, most recently, Être sûr de soi (2002).