When does a woman give valid consent to sexual relations? When does her consent render it morally or legally permissible for a man to have sexual relations with her? These are two of the questions discussed in this important book, which will appeal to a wide readership in philosophy, law, and the social sciences. Alan Wertheimer considers a wide variety of situations involving coercion, fraud, retardation, and intoxication.

Alan Wertheimer is John G. McCullough Professor of Political Science at the University of Vermont. He is the author of Coercion (1987) and Exploitation (1996) and has published articles in Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, Law and Philosophy, and Legal Theory.

1. Introduction; 2. Law; 3. The psychology of sex; 4. The psychology of perpetrators; 5. The harm of rape; 6. The value of consent; 7. The ontology of consent; 8. Coercion; 9. Deception; 10. Competence; 11. Intoxication; 12. Sex and justice; Appendix.