ETHICS AND SEX
Igor Primoratz
London and New York
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First published 1999 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 1999 Igor Primoratz
The right of Igor Primoratz to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Typeset in Garamond by Routledge
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow Cornwall
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication DataPrimoratz, Igor. Ethics and sex/Igor Primoratz. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Sexual ethics. I. Title. HQ32.P75 1999 176-dc21 98-48882
ISBN 0-415-09333-3 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-09334-1 (pbk)
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CONTENTS
Preface and acknowledgments
ix
Abbreviations
xi
PART I The basics
1
1 Introduction
3
Philosophers and sex
Plan of the book
7
2 Sex and procreation
9
Sex, procreation, marriage
Objections to the procreation view
13
3 Sex and love
21
Sex with love
Objections to the sex with love view
26
Sex without love
31
4 Sex as language
34
A body language
Objections to the language view
37
5 The pleasure of sex
41
Plain sex
Plainer sex
43
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6 Sexual perversion 50
Inconsistencies of ordinary use 50
The main views of sex and the concept of perversion 51
The immorality of sexual perversion 58
A concept best discarded 63
PART II The issues 67
7 Marriage, adultery, jealousy 69
Marriage: some defenses 69
Marriage: some critiques 74
Adultery 78
Jealousy 85
8 Prostitution 88
Positive morality 88
Paternalism 91
Things not for sale 94
Degradation of women 99
Oppression of women 105
9 Homosexuality 110
Homosexual, gay, queer 110
What's wrong with homosexual sex? 111
Discrimination against homosexuals 119
Homosexual marriage 127
10 Pedophilia 133
Pederasty, ephebophilia, pedophilia 133
What's wrong with pedophilia? ...
Maeveric