Sexual ethics - Kant Flashcards
Why would Kant disagree with contraception?
Cannot universalise - “you ought to use contraception” - contradiction in law of nature as human populace would die out because the nature of sex is to produce life.
How is contraception a hypothetical?
Use contraception if you want to avoid pregnancy. No compassionate use of contraception allowed.
For Kant, why is premarital sex wrong?
Lowers man to the level of beasts and using people as a means to an end.
How is premarital sex different to marital sex for Kant?
No reciprocal possession of each other’s faculties as there is in marriage
What does Kant say about sex based on sexual appetite alone?
Means people are then cast aside afterwards and used.
For Kant, why is adultery wrong?
You ought not to commit adultery as marriage vows are promises and to break them is to contradict the very nature of a promise - contradiction in the law of nature
How does the contradiction in the will apply to adultery?
You would not will that your partner commits adultery so should not will it for others.
Why is Kant against homosexuality?
Can’t be universalised as the human race would die out. No hypothetical imperatives e.g. you ought to allow homosexual sex if it’s in a loving relationship.
What does Kant say about homosexuality?
He says that it is a crime against nature - against the flesh, which is the worst crime according to Kant.
Give Kant’s quote about what sex does to someone.
“Sex makes of the loved person an object of appetite. Taken by itself it is a degradation of human nature.
What are Kant’s views on sex as a deontologist?
For Kant, the act of sex uses people as a means to an end and thus doesn’t uphold the good will.
For Kant, what is premarital sex?
Succumbing to your desires and instincts - you lower yourself to the level of non rational creatures.
For Kant, what is the purpose of marriage?
Is to allow the union of two persons of different sexes to have life long reciprocal possession of their sexual faculties.
For Kant, why is sex acceptable in marriage?
Because it is done in the broader context of two people freely engaging in a cooperative lifelong contractual venture - not using each other as a means to an end.
For Kant, what is the connection between reason and sex?
Lust is the chief disturber of reason - when dominant it dishonours us because it dishonours our reason and by desiring only another person’s sex rather than the whole totality of that person we violate their dignity as a fellow member of a Kingdom of ends.
