Chapter 15: Sexual Morality
Complete the passage on sexual morality below.
The moderate view does not require marriage for permissible sex. A key element in this view is a loving emotional connection between consenting adults.
How many women will be sexually assaulted while attending college?
1 in 5
Complete the passage about philosopher Alan Goldman's approach to sexual morality below.
Alan Goldman argues for sexual liberalism. He rejects the Roman Catholic goal-directed (or, as he says, "means-end") analysis of sex. He maintains instead that sex is not a means to some other goal—sex is just "plain sex" emerging out of a desire for contact with another's body.
Complete the passage on sexual morality below.
The central question in the morality of sexual behavior is: What kind of sexual behavior is morally permissible, and under what circumstances?
Philosopher Alan Goldman points out some logical inconsistencies in the conventional view of sexual morality. Which of these is an example of an inevitable logical inconsistency of the "means-end" view of sex?
The conventional view denounces oral sex but not hand holding or kissing.
Complete the passage on moral arguments around views of sexual morality below.
The key difference between the conventional and the liberal view of sexuality is that the former insists that sexual behavior has a morally significant goal, and the latter assumes that sex has no goal at all.
What percentage of high school students report having sexual intercourse?
46%
According to the 2014 opinion poll cited in the textbook, what percentage of respondents said they believe it is morally acceptable for a man and a woman to have sex before marriage?
66%
There are a lot of possible harms and benefits to balance in a utilitarian framework for sex. Which of these factors speak to the benefits of sex, and which speak to the possible harms that must be considered?
A Benefit of Sex a sense of well-being sexual pleasure the forging of interpersonal bonds of mutual affection and caring
Match the word with its definition.
A broad term, which includes penetrative and nonpenetrative sexual acts such as attempted rape, forced kissing, and unwanted groping of sexual parts. Correct label:Sexual assault The penetration of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or the penetration of the mouth by the sex organ of another person, without the consent (verbal or nonverbal) of the victim. Correct label:rape
Which of these are arguments in favor of "hookup culture" contributing to a rise in campus sexual assaults, and which are arguments against that claim?
An Argument in Favor of Hookup Culture Contributing to the Rise of Campus Sexual Assaults Hookups tend to lower a sense of personal responsibility for sexual encounters, shielding the perpetrator from blame for harm caused. Hookups seem to involve alcohol.
Which of the following are arguments against the "plain sex" view of sexual morality?
An Argument in Favor of the Means End View of Sex Sex is not just physical; it involves the commingling of persons' spiritual and moral selves. The right kind of sex expresses the right kind of values. Sex that is devoid of the right kind of values is perverse.
Match the position on the use of pornography to the view of sexual morality that supports it.
Censorship of pornography impinges on personal liberty, which is only justified in cases of harm to others. Correct label: liberal There is no evidence that consensual pornography harms morality or causes crime or other social ills. Correct label: liberal Producing and using pornography contributes to the decay of moral standards and can lead to crime and social disorder. Correct label: conventional Pornography should be censored for encouraging unacceptable sexual behavior. Correct label:conventional
What are some of the effects of sexual assault?
Effect of Sexual Assault physical injuries from forcible rape post-traumatic stress disorder suicide depression
An underage person is capable of consenting to sex.
False
Philosopher Alan Goldman's view of sexual liberalism posits that sex can never be immoral.
False
The liberal view allows sex under all circumstances, regardless of consent or age
False
What standard of evidence is used by universities and colleges investigating cases of sexual assault or rape on campus?
the preponderance of evidence rule
Read the passage below about Title IX and click on the reasons why it is such a powerful influence on how campuses deal with sexual assault. Aside from the activities of activists and survivors, the single most powerful influence on how sexual assault is handled at U.S. colleges and universities has been Title IX, a federal law that forbids discrimination based on gender in any educational institution receiving federal funds. If a school violates Title IX, it could lose that funding. Sexual assault is considered a form of discrimination that interferes with the victim's equal right to an education, so Title IX applies. The statute, as interpreted by the U.S. Department of Education, requires schools to stop campus sexual assault, prevent future occurrences, adjudicate the competing claims of supposed victim and assailant, and mete out justice for both.
If a school violates Title IX, it could lose that funding The statute, as interpreted by the U.S. Department of Education, requires schools to stop campus sexual assault,
Complete the passage on incapacitated rape below
Incapacitated rape— rape while the victim is unconscious or intoxicated— can induce the same kind of psychological harm as sexual assault or forcible rape.
What is a key weakness to the claim that homosexuality is immoral because it is a deviation from the normal pattern?
It does not follow from an action's statistical abnormality that it is immoral.
In cases of full consent, which of these behaviors are acceptable according to the liberal view?
Permissible According to the Liberal View extramarital sex sex with birth control homosexual sex masturbation premarital sex group sex
Consider the following statement from the textbook: "knowing how nature is tells us nothing about how we ought to be." What positions is this statement used to counter?
Positions that this Argument Is Used to Counter - Homosexuality is a misuse of body parts. - natural law theory - People ought to stay how they were born according to nature.
What are some of the problems with the "no means no" standard often in use on college campuses?
Problems with the "No Means No" Standard Silence or lack of resistance does not necessarily mean yes. When people are intimidated, scared, or in shock, they may not feel they are able to say no or resist.
Which of these activities are prohibited by the conventional view of sexual morality and the religious strain of sexual morality, and which are permitted?
Prohibited According to the Conventional View masturbation sex between unmarried couples adultery
The moral issues around sex tend to fall into two categories: (1) those that focus on the morality of specific types of sexual acts and the context of those acts, and (2) those that concern an individual's free consent to such acts. Which of the issues or items below fall into the first category, and which into the second?
Relates to the Morality of Specific Types of Sexual Acts oral sex premarital sex anal sex group sex masturbation
Complete the passage on sexual assault and gender below.
Research shows that the perpetrators of sexual assault are almost all male, regardless of the gender of the victims.
Match the view on sexual morality with its corresponding explanation.
Sex is permissible between informed, consenting adults. Correct label:liberal view Sex is permissible only in a marriage between a man and a woman. Correct label:conventional view Sex is permissible between informed, consenting adults who are bound by love or commitment. Correct label:moderate view
Complete the passage on campus sexual assault below.
Sociologists, psychologists, and journalists who study sexual violence have uncovered an unsettling fact that has for years been hidden in plain sight: sexual assault against college and university women on campus is shockingly common, and often responses to it by both government officials and school administrators have been remarkably ill-informed, naïve, even callous
Which of these theories can be used to support a liberal view of sexual morality?
Supports a Liberal View of Sexual Morality utilitarianism Kantianism
Complete the passage on sexual assault activism below.
The #MeToo movement was founded in 2006 by Tarana Burke and shocked audiences online and in the mainstream in 2017 when several famous actresses spoke up about sexual harassment they had experienced.
Complete the passage on the Roman Catholic use of moral theory with respect to sexual morality below.
The Roman Catholic Church is consistent with natural law theory; because procreation is foremost among this theory, actions consistent with it are allowed, supporting a conventional view of sexual morality.
Both consequentialist and non-consequentialist theories condemn sexual assault.
True
Sexual intercourse with an unconscious person is always rape.
True
Complete the passage on consent below.
Without clear consent by both individuals, a hookup is, by definition, sexual assault. The requirement of consent is that in sexual activity, mutual consent (permission to engage in sex) must be clear and freely granted by individuals capable of giving consent (not drunk, drugged, or underage, for example).
What is another term for the "yes means yes" standard?
affirmative consent
Match the key moral question around sexual assault with its implications or the issues it raises.
how the college or university handles an allegation of assault and how it treats the person claiming assault as well as the accused Correct label: whether and how justice is served after a sexual assault occurs Without clear consent by both individuals, a hookup is, by definition, sexual assault. Correct label: whether the requirement of consent is met in any kind of sexual encounter
Read the passage below from the Vatican and click on the sections that support a conventional view of sexual morality. Experience teaches us that love must find its safeguard in the stability of marriage, if sexual intercourse is truly to respond to the requirements of its own finality and to those of human dignity. These requirements call for a conjugal contract sanctioned and guaranteed by society—a contract which establishes a state of life of capital importance both for the exclusive union of the man and the woman and for the good of their family and of the human community.
love must find its safeguard in the stability of marriage, if sexual intercourse is truly to respond to the requirements of its own finality These requirements call for a conjugal contract sanctioned and guaranteed by society exclusive union of the man and the woman
Read the passage by sociologist Alison E. Hatch, below, and click on the evidence given by survivors that campuses have not done a good job dealing with cases of sexual assault and rape. Many campus sexual assault survivors believe that their college or university failed to take their sexual assault seriously. Survivors have reported all kinds of institutional mismanagement, at a range of different colleges and universities across the nation, including experiencing the following from campus officials: callousness, disbelief, defamation, retribution for reporting, failure to provide support and protection, failure to hold perpetrators responsible, and efforts to cover up allegations. . . .The existing research on school responses largely supports the criticisms that universities and colleges are not holding perpetrators accountable.
retribution for reporting, failure to hold perpetrators responsible, efforts to cover up allegations
Read the passage below from biologists about homosexuality in nature. Click on the sections that provide evidence against the claim that homosexuality is unnatural because it does not exist amongst animals. We know that in species after species, right through the animal kingdom, students of animal behavior report unambiguous evidence of homosexual attachments and behavior—in insects, fish, birds, and lower and higher mammals. . . . Whatever the moral implications of homosexuality and naturalness may be, it is false that homosexuality is immoral because it does not exist amongst animals.
students of animal behavior report unambiguous evidence of homosexual attachments and behavior
Place the views on sexual morality in order from least to most permissive in terms of what constitutes morally acceptable sex according to each view.
the conventional view the moderate view the liberal view
