SEXUAL ETHICS Flashcards
What are the 3 topics sexual ethics is based on
Premarital sex, Homosexuality, Extramarital sex
how does michael foucalt challenge sexual ethics
it tends to list behaviours as abnormal and normal, this damages our ways of thinking
why do feminists believe sexual ethics is important
due to gender inequality, women are disproportionately affected by sexual discrimination
who are the two thinkers for natural law based on sexual ethics
Aquinas and John Finnis
what are Aquinas’ views
he rules out extra/premarital sex and homosexuality due to his primary precepts. homosexuality goes against the primary precept to reproduce. marriage is key to live in an ordered society as it is generative and unitive. the new generation should be brought through marriage and extramarital sex is a form of adultery
what do the terms generative and unitive mean
generative means it brings new life, unitive means it brings people together
what does finnis believe
certain things of life are basic goods of humans flourishing
what are these goods
knowledge, work, friendship, spirituality,reproduction+marriage
how does he argue marriage is a good
it is able to merge reproduction and friendship
why does finnis argue homosexuality is bad
reproduction cant be achieved therefore its harmful and instrumental
how does situation ethics approach sexual ethics
it condemns homosexuality and premarital sex(possibly extramarital) as theyre actions based on love. as long as they dont act promiscuously its okay
why does fletcher say theres a problem with acting promiscously
if you act in a promiscuous manner, you are ignoring a persons dignity and value and are therefore treating them as a love object
what were the 2 examples fletcher used to show extramarital sex is okay
Mrs bergmier and the female US agent
what is the Mrs Bergmier example
mrs begmier was trapped in a camp during the world war and missed her family, the only way for her to get sent home was for her to be pregnant, out sympathy a russian soldier got her pregnant so she could go home to her family
what was the female us agent example
a female agent was asked to use her sexuality in order to trap an enemy agent and get info that could save their lives. she protested and said its no different from her brother putting his life on the line in korea
before christianity, what was sex like
sex was something corrupt, philosphers seen it as something to be celebrated whilst others seen sexual acts as a form of worship used by cults
how was homosexuality viewed
homosexuality was viewed in a positive manner and encouraged, older men were usually in couples with much younger men
what does jesus say about sexuality in the bible
“i tell you anyone who divorces his wife except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery and anyone who marries her commits adultery”
what does the apostle paul say about sexuality
the apostle paul states that christians must remain celibate but if they cant control their desires they should get maried
how would a roman catholic approach this
a roman catholic would give equal weight to natural law, the bible and the church
how would a liberal christian approach this
they would follow the bible but may not feel the need to follow what paul says
how would an evangelist approach this
an evangelist would take the bibles approach in a more literal sense
how would kantian ethics approach sexual ethics
kant would want us to return the idea of persons,as humans we are persons due to our ability to act rationally, we have desires but act in will
what is kants worry about sexuality
he worries that it leads to us acting based on desires, he wants us to overcome with this with marriage as it doesnt degrade us in persons as the couple has chosen to be in a contract with one another
