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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   25275 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of February 26, 2024

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Are you opposed to animals having sex with each other?

No, because I don't make the same moral requirements of animals as I do of humans. "It's wrong for humans to have sex with a non-consenting partner" doesn't imply "It's wrong for animals to have sex with a non-consenting partner," any more than "It's wrong for humans to torture mice for their amusement" implies "It's wrong for cats to torture mice for their amusement."

So if you just happen to by lying around looking attractive and an animal shows up and has his way with you?

I wouldn't condemn the animal ethically, any more than I'd condemn the weather ethically for having a storm when I'm sailing and breaking my back. Would you?

What about the person though?

A person who does that to have sex with an animal? Not meaningfully different from the case where the person initiates.

It's not "morally wrong" for an animal to try that, the same as it isn't "morally wrong" for a bear to try and maul you. Indeed, I've never seen anyone judging a bear for doing that.

When you shoot an animal that does something you don't like, it's not because they're morally in the wrong, it's becausee they're doing something you don't like.

To be clear, the moral requirements are upon those who are human, specifically, and not those who are able to consent, right?

As I assume you wouldn't be okay with children having sex with animals (since you think both are unable to consent)?

To be clear, the moral requirements are upon those who are human, specifically, and not those who are able to consent, right?

As I assume you wouldn't be okay with children having sex with animals (since you think both are unable to consent)?

Not specifically humans, no. If Vulcans existed, they would also have moral requirements.

But you're fundamentally right: being unable to consent to sex is not a sufficient condition for being outside the realm of moral responsibility. However, in most plausible examples, a child who engages in sexual acts with an animal (and hasn't been specifically told not to etc.) likely doesn't understand what they are doing, so should be treated as someone who did something wrong without knowing. I think this is common sense: if you saw your 7 year old daughter doing things with your dog, you'd treat her very differently from your 70 year old neighbour doing things with your dog, and one of the pertinent differences is their likely degree of understanding what they are doing.

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