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Where is this coming from? I really don't know what you are arguing against.
The disconnect is that you conflate sexual intercourse (i.e. PIV) with "firing the gun", when under your metaphor PIV would be shooting to kill (fulfilling the act's primary purpose) and non-procreative sex would be target practice (fulfilling a secondary, recreational purpose).
It seems like you are conflating things. Why would having sexual intercourse in general be the equivalent of shooting to kill? Where is that even coming from?
For my metaphor, the equivalent of shooting to kill would be having intercourse specifically on a day the woman is expected to be most fertile, in the hopes that it will bring forth new life. In fact, there are supposed tricks to time sexual intercourse to have a male or female baby (male sperm swim faster, so if you abstain from sex up until the moment of ovulation, there's like a 30% higher chance a male sperm will get there first.) Something like that would be shooting to kill. But just any old act of sexual intercourse is not this.
"Fufilling the act's primary purpose" - I'm not talking about the act's purpose. I'm talking about the object's purpose. That's the conflation many people are making on this thread. The object (Genitals, guns and bullets) and the act (firing a gun, engaging in sexual intercourse) are different. Still different are the things that the act can do (have a kid, target practice, etc). I'm not appealing to the Act's purpose at any point to describe what someone should do with the object.
So you believe that the purpose of genitals is to engage in sexual intercourse, defined as PIV resulting in internal ejaculation, correct? Furthermore, you believe that using genitals for sexual acts outside of sexual intercourse is immoral or at least improper, yes?
Such a narrow understanding of telos seems... fragile. The way I see it, using one's genitals in a way that does not deposit semen intravaginally is less like using a gun as a table leg and more like using a flathead screwdriver as a pry: it's not the "primary" purpose of the object(s), but it's a valid alternate application that can be rewarding if used properly.
The telos of a flathead screwdriver is to apply force perpendicular to the plane of the screwdriver. This works if you are using it as a pry or to screw in screws.
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No, the purpose of having proper sexual intercourse (i.e. using your genitals "properly, for their intended use") is the equivalent here. Not just sexual intercourse in general in the "mutual masturbation" sense, which is as suspect (smuggled assumption: sinful?) as "using a gun only for target practice" is to certain other people.
Again, genitals (as with guns) can be used for pair bonding and pleasure, it's just that that's not their telos/"what they're meant for".
No, of course. The telos of genitals and guns are not pair bonding or pleasure or killing people or having babies. The telos of genitals is sexual intercourse, the telos of guns is to fire bullets.
One efficient cause of genitals is the need to generate new life and one efficient cause of guns is the need to kill people more efficiently.
At least, that's how I see it.
Will someone please make a Zardoz joke already?
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