Thinkers On Sexual Ethics Flashcards
Plato on sex
Charioteer. Desire needs controlling.
Richard Holloway on sex
“Human sexuality is like a runaway car”
Pythagoreans on sex
We should refrain from physicalities and live a more ascetic life
Old testament on sex
Genesis 1+2) sex is for procreation only
Adultery forbidden
Celibacy is holy
No real view - did mention incest (tale of Lot). Celebrated in Song of Songs
New testament on sex
Jesus - reflect God’s love for all people
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery” - Mark 10:11
Ephesians (5:22-24) - “be subject to your husbands”
Paul - Corinthians 6:12-20 - sex only within marriage
Augustine in sex
“Necessary evil” restricted to marriage
Sexual pleasure disrupts reason
Desire is a constant reminder of the fall
Sex is allowed but not allowed to be enjoyed only in marriage
Aquinas on sex
Telos of sex is procreation ONLY
Sex is wrong if “the act of its nature is incompatible with the purpose of the sex act”
Masturbation (“sin of self-abuse”), bestiality and homosexuality wrong
“Conflict with right reason may arise from the nature of the act with respect to the other party”
Kant and sex
“Taken by itself sexual love is a degradation of human nature”
Universalisability - adultery NO, homos NO
Ends in themselves - prostitution NO - “as an object of appetite for another, a person becomes a thing and can be treated as such by everyone”
Contractarian - sex only in marriaged
Pornography is objectifying people
Bentham and sex
Mutual consent cannot make any sex act wrong
Mill and sex
‘On Liberty”
Matter of personal choice
Accept unconventional preferences
“as long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs or impede others to obtain it”
Virtue ethics and sex
Intimacy and bonding is the only goodness of sex
Slote - care in relationships is vital
Jack Dominion and sex
Sex is so meaningful that justice can only be done to it in a continuous and enduring relationship
Leviticus 18-20 on gays
“Do not have sexual acts with a man…that is detestable”
“If a man has sexual relations with a man…they are to be put to death
Humanae Vitae, 1968 on contraception
Anything that interferes with sex’s true purpose is breaking the NL precepts
Vatican on contraception
“Gravely opposed to marital chastity”
