Download Ethics and Business

Ethics: Theory and Practice
Jacques P. Thiroux
Keith W. Krasemann
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Chapter Thirteen
Morality, Marriage, and Human
Sexuality
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Major Aspects of Human Sexuality
• The public, or societal, aspect is concerned
with how matters of sex overtly affect others,
and the governing principles of morality here
are life, goodness, and justice
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Major Aspects of Human Sexuality
• The private aspect is concerned with sexual
relations between or among consenting
adults, and the governing principles here are
goodness, justice, freedom, and honesty
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Moral Issues and the Private
Aspect of Human Sexuality
• The meaning and the private aspect of human
sexuality is not one-dimensional but includes
the following:
– Procreation
– Pleasure
– An expression of love for another
– An expression of friendship and liking
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Moral Issues and the Private
Aspect of Human Sexuality
• The conservative, or restrictive, position
concerning sexual activity often puts the most
emphasis on the procreative aspect or the
view that sex is a “necessary evil”
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Moral Issues and the Private
Aspect of Human Sexuality
• The position advocating complete freedom in
sexual matters usually emphasizes the
pleasure aspect and the right of individuals to
enjoy such pleasure
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Moral Issues and the Private
Aspect of Human Sexuality
• The more modern position tends to accept
both procreation and pleasure aspects while
also including – and often emphasizing more
strongly – the expression-of-love aspect
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Moral Issues and the Public Aspect
of Human Sexuality
• Sexual activities that affect the public or
others in such a way as to bring them possible
harm include the following:
– Rape
– Child molestation
– Unwilling sadism
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Moral Issues and the Public Aspect
of Human Sexuality
– Less clearly  pornography, homosexuality,
prostitution, “unnatural” sexual activities, sex
outside of marriage, masturbation, and
nonmonogamous marriages
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Moral Issues and the Public Aspect
of Human Sexuality
• Most ethical systems are agreed that the first
three types of activity listed in the first slide
on this topic are immoral
• The others have less agreement
• There are a number of arguments against
allowing people the sexual freedom to engage
in the last seven activities
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Arguments Against Sexual Freedom
• These activities are a violation against
traditional morality and family values
• According to the Domino argument, allowing
these seven activities will eventually lead to
general acceptance of the first three
• These activities are offensive to public taste
• Probability of getting social diseases, including
AIDS
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Arguments For Sexual Freedom
• Individual rights and individual freedom
should take precedence because these
activities cause no direct harm to others
• Traditional family values, which oppose such
activities, are not absolute
• There is no hard evidence to support the
Domino argument
– Laws can be passed to prohibit these activities
from escalating
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Arguments For Sexual Freedom
• Offensiveness to the public taste is not in itself
sufficient cause to deny individual rights in
these matters, and if discretion is used, the
offensiveness to others can be minimized
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Arguments For Sexual Freedom
• Proper precautions can be taken to guard
against social diseases and AIDS; therefore,
this is no reason to deny one freedom in the
area of sexuality
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Premarital Sex
• The term premarital sex refers to sex relations
that occur prior to marriage; it is called
fornication in the Bible
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Arguments Against Premarital Sex
• It undermines traditional morality/ family
values
• It fosters promiscuity
• It fosters social diseases and AIDS
• It fosters guilt and ostracism
• It is detrimental to children
• Marriage is sacred and requires respect
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Arguments for Premarital Sex
• Old moral traditions are no longer applicable
in our changing society
• Abstinence is not acceptable and proper
precautions eliminate disease concerns
• Promiscuity is not a necessary adjunct of
premarital sex
– But if the parties are consenting adults, no harm
• Personal choice outweighs ostracism
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Arguments for Premarital Sex
• Contraception and sexual responsibility can
eliminate problems concerned with children from
such a union
• The opportunity provided by premarital sex to
gain sexual experience and to test compatibility is
a great advantage
• Sex gives pleasure
• It is a private act and legislation should not
control it
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Sex in Marriage-Type Relationships
(Including Nonlegal)
• Marriage-type relationships are continuous
and lasting rather than temporary
• Their main purpose is to provide a deep and
intimate expression of love between or among
persons
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Sex in Marriage-Type Relationships
(Including Nonlegal)
• A secondary but not unimportant purpose is
to procreate
• These purposes are not necessarily
incompatible
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Various Types of Marriage
Relationships
• Monogamy, the marriage relationship involving
one man and one woman, is the most common in
the Western world
• Polygamy, including polyandry and bigamy,
means having more than one husband or wife
• Group marriage, with and without “free love,”
involves a communal kind of living and may
include already married or single people
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Arguments Against
Nonmonogamous Marriage
• Monogamy is prescribed in the Bible
• Monogamy is an essential part of our society’s
traditions
• Love relationships are too intimate to involve
more than two people
• Children are better off in traditional,
monogamous families
• Such relationships eliminate disease risks
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Arguments For Nonmonogamous
Marriage
• It is not up to society to prescribe a specific
type of marriage
– Our changing culture encourages experimentation
with alternative types of marriage
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Arguments For Nonmonogamous
Marriage
• All laws prohibiting nonmonogamous
marriages should be removed because they
encroach on private sexual matters
• Consenting adults are free to experiment
• As long as there is honesty, there is no direct
harm to others
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Arguments Against Homosexual
Marriage
• It is an unnatural and perverse form of sexuality
• It is against the laws of God
• It sets a bad example for children, and it is
dangerous because its adherents attempt to
proselytize for its cause
• It is totally responsible for the AIDS crisis
• It is offensive to the taste of most people in
society and to our family values
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Arguments For Homosexual
Marriage
• There is no conclusive evidence suggesting that
homosexuality is unnatural/immoral
• It is the right of freely consenting adults to
engage in private sexuality
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Arguments For Homosexual
Marriage
• Homosexuals have lowered rates of infection
through careful behavior
• Child sexual abuse is committed by heterosexuals
more often than homosexuals
• Homosexuals are human beings
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Arguments Against Adultery
• It is a violation of traditional family values
• It involves lying, cheating, and infidelity
• It is destructive of the marriage relationship
and can lead to separation/divorce and the
emotional injury of children
• It makes a mockery of marriage
• It increases the risk of spreading social disease
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Arguments For Adultery
• Individuals ought to be free to do what they
want in their own sex lives
• What another’s spouse does not know, will
not hurt them
• If the adulterer practices safe sex, no harm
• Adultery allows marriages to stay together
when they are unsatisfying
• If couples agree to it, no harm
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Masturbation
• Arguments Against:
– It is an abuse of one’s sexuality, which is a gift
from God
– It causes people to become preoccupied with sex
and can lead to other sexual violations of morality
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Masturbation
• Arguments For:
– Normal biological and psychological practice
– It is the best way to learn about sex
– It can be considered the safest form of sex
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Arguments Against Pornography
• It is humanly degrading
• It can involve actual sex crimes
• It degrades human sexuality in general and
women in particular
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Arguments Against Pornography
• It encourages trafficking in sex, rape, child
molestation, sadism, prostitution,
exhibitionism, voyeurism, and other types of
sexual “perversions”
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Arguments For Pornography
• Consenting adults have the right to view, read,
or listen to anything they wish
• There is no proof that pornography is
degrading or that it will destroy our moral
fabric
• Strong laws stop crimes
• Whether it is degrading is a matter of taste
and opinion
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Prostitution
• Argument Against:
– Immoral
– Causes crime and degradation
– Spreads disease
• Argument For:
– Safe sexual release
– Victimless crime in consensual relationship
– If it were regulated, it would be disease free
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Sexual Perversion
• The conservative viewpoint is that the only
normal sexual activity is between a man and a
woman in the “missionary” position
• The liberal viewpoint varies, but it generally
states that sex acts committed by consenting
adults are a matter of private concern and
should be considered to be moral
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