Category: Ethics
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Formspring: Moral Differences between Sex Acts?
by Jason Stotts I received this question recently, which is partly a response to my answer of the last formspring question “When is Sex Appropriate?“. The question is this: What is the moral difference between manual, oral and vaginal sex? Is there one? Should one’s standards for partners vary for each of these activities? Why…
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Circumcision is Immoral
by Jason Stotts I’ve said before that circumcision is immoral; but, did you know it’s also impractical? A new study (n = 5552) from Denmark found that: Conclusions: Circumcision was associated with frequent orgasm difficulties in Danish men and with a range of frequent sexual difficulties in women, notably orgasm difficulties, dyspareunia and a sense of incomplete sexual needs…
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Too Much of a Good Thing?
by Jason Stotts I think the idea of “too much of a good thing” being bad is nonsense and it is based on an incorrect understanding of “good”. For Objectivism, for something to be “good,” it must promote the life of the agent. Good, for Objectivism, is not intrinsic, or by divine decree, or some…
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Father’s Day
by Jason Stotts Note, I was originally intending to have this published on Father’s Day, but it wasn’t ready in time. Today, on the day that we celebrate fatherhood and thank our fathers for bringing us into existence and raising us well, I think it makes sense to discuss what fatherhood is, and paternity more…
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Prostitution
by Jason Stotts Someone asked me at ATLOSCon what I thought about prostitution and I’m glad that I didn’t get asked the question during my lecture. I think I gave a pretty good answer to their question, but it’s one of those questions that I have not spent enough time thinking about to give a…
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Shamenorming
by Jason Stotts I recently had a conversation with someone who argued that slut shaming was dead and that it didn’t happen anymore. I haven’t heard such a naive and fanciful position since religion. For those who have any doubts, here are two very sad stories of slut-shaming. These are certainly not outliers, but just…
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On Marijuana 2
by Jason Stotts This November in the California election, a momentous event is transpiring: the people are getting the chance to vote on whether they want to legalize marijuana. If Prop 19 passes, it will make it legal for any adult in the state to use marijuana, in the same way that they use alcohol,…
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On Polysexuality (5/5)
by Jason Stotts The Optimal Solution? In order to look more in depth into polysexuality, let us take a look at the two kinds of polysexuality and see which form is more likely to maximize our happiness. In order to do so, we will assume that a couple can meet all of the above requirements…