Another of my journals. I don't really know why I'm posting them, but maybe they'll provoke good discussion.
So, I can't think of anything else, so I'll do a controversial one. Is prostitution ethical? (You asked for it). Taking ethics based solely on religion aside (the bible verse or whatever) then is there anything inherently wrong with it? All it essentially doing is providing a service. Is that inherently different than any other service? It's truly just the institution of marriage (or at least mostly) that is keeping this illegal. From a Utilitarian view, the buyer obviously gets pleasure (heh heh) and the provider gets paid. Now, I haven't looked into any long term psychological factors, so I won't bring that up. But I suppose the possibility exists for long term damage.
This act is only wrong from a deontological view if you see the act itself as wrong. Is it the sex that's wrong? Pre-marital sex is increasing in our society, and is hardly even frowned upon these days. Or is it that it is for money? I understand the argument that some people are "trapped" in this role, and I agree that that's a bad thing. But here's my solution: legalize prostitution. For one, it would actually aid the prostitutes. Legalization would give cause for the government to set up "brothels" or the like, which would have to promote safe practices or else face legal consequences. Therefore, STD's would not be as much of a factor. It would also stop the prostitutes from being trapped by a "pimp" (I don't know the inner working of a prostitution organization) and would be a steady source of income. This would also be a massive source of revenue for the government, which is a good thing for them. It seems like legalizing prostitution is only a bad thing for the people who simply think it's morally wrong (and everyone has a right to their opinion). However, it aides everyone involved except for the people they dislike most (the abusive pimps), so that argument is basically invalid. So, I believe that the legalization of prostitution would not be morally wrong (though I probably wouldn't partake in the activity).
**By the way, these are assigned journals that we needed to come up with for Theory of Knowledge (we were assigned four journals on "ethics"). That's why I said "you asked for it." Referring to my teacher. Not the Escapist population.
So, I can't think of anything else, so I'll do a controversial one. Is prostitution ethical? (You asked for it). Taking ethics based solely on religion aside (the bible verse or whatever) then is there anything inherently wrong with it? All it essentially doing is providing a service. Is that inherently different than any other service? It's truly just the institution of marriage (or at least mostly) that is keeping this illegal. From a Utilitarian view, the buyer obviously gets pleasure (heh heh) and the provider gets paid. Now, I haven't looked into any long term psychological factors, so I won't bring that up. But I suppose the possibility exists for long term damage.
This act is only wrong from a deontological view if you see the act itself as wrong. Is it the sex that's wrong? Pre-marital sex is increasing in our society, and is hardly even frowned upon these days. Or is it that it is for money? I understand the argument that some people are "trapped" in this role, and I agree that that's a bad thing. But here's my solution: legalize prostitution. For one, it would actually aid the prostitutes. Legalization would give cause for the government to set up "brothels" or the like, which would have to promote safe practices or else face legal consequences. Therefore, STD's would not be as much of a factor. It would also stop the prostitutes from being trapped by a "pimp" (I don't know the inner working of a prostitution organization) and would be a steady source of income. This would also be a massive source of revenue for the government, which is a good thing for them. It seems like legalizing prostitution is only a bad thing for the people who simply think it's morally wrong (and everyone has a right to their opinion). However, it aides everyone involved except for the people they dislike most (the abusive pimps), so that argument is basically invalid. So, I believe that the legalization of prostitution would not be morally wrong (though I probably wouldn't partake in the activity).
**By the way, these are assigned journals that we needed to come up with for Theory of Knowledge (we were assigned four journals on "ethics"). That's why I said "you asked for it." Referring to my teacher. Not the Escapist population.
