Alan Soble

Alan Gerald Soble (March 4, 1947 – March 5, 2025) was an American philosopher and author of several books on the philosophy of sex. He taught at the University of New Orleans from 1986 to 2006 and was an Adjunct Professor of philosophy at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Soble initially wrote papers in Ethics and Epistemology. In the late 1970s, he became a key figure in establishing the philosophy of sex as an academic specialty. In 1977, he founded the Society for the Philosophy of Sex and Love at the University of Texas in Austin and served as its director until 1992. He edited its proceedings, published as 'Sex, Love, and Friendship' in 1997. Soble authored and edited numerous influential works in his field, including the comprehensive 'Sex from Plato to Paglia'. He died in Philadelphia in 2025.