In reference to my last question (whats the point of morals?)?

Question

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnwoeGNMClXp1WN8qDB0cpTsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071010070424AAZ0yML&show=7#profile-info-51a031b89955f83a4a389df24d4bd894aa




I understand the "We need morals for a peaceful society" argument, that to kill, rob, hurt, is wrong because you don't have that right, but I didn't say anything about killing, robbing or hurting did I?



I mentioned incest, and orgies.



There's nothing really wrong with two related people having sex as long as they don't have children is there? People try and use the "genetic defects" argument a lot, but who said they were going to have kids?


YOU don't have the right to deny someone that choice, do you?


It's the same way with group sex, if the people really want it, and no one has a problem with it, then what's wrong with it?


It's like doctor assisted suicide, or abortion. If the patient wants iit, then there's nothing wrong with it, and if the mother wants an abortion, then there's nothing wrong with it.

What's the point of having THOSE kind of morals?

Windom Earle: Ok, but why can't people do it now with birth control? We've busted the taboo on almost every other sexual act.

Answer 1

Who said there was anything wrong with it ?Not me

Answer 2

The point of morals in general: they are good. That is the actual answer, there isn't anything more to it than that which is why "we hold these truths to be self-evident."

The point of laws or taboos against specific behaviors: Sometimes those things must be shamed or banned for health or order reasons, and sometimes it simply preserves structure in the society.

In the Lawrence v. Texas sodomy case the Texas statute banning the practice was challenged. Justices Breyer and Scalia got into it. Breyer asked what the justification for such a law was, or if it was just imposing religious beliefs of the majority on others. Scalia argued that morality is whatever the majority says it is. Breyer pionted out that teaching German was illegal in Texas during and after World War I - so did that make it immoral? Scalia replied that it did, in fact.

All that said, incest and orgies are very different things. And while two relatives may not intend to produce an offspring, sex is the only way that can happen and no method of birth control is absolute. Additionally, I think there is research showing that incest most often involves a minor and therefore is considered coercive by nature, and therefore emotionally troubling. I can see why the community would ban it. Orgies might be seen as a threat to committed relationships and every study I've ever seen on the matter shows that kids' life outcomes are FAR better when there is a mother and a father in the home - the further we get away from that the worse off our children are, meaning more crime, more depression, more broken families down the road, etc. Again, the state might have a compelling paternalistic interest in controlling that behavior. I myself believe that both of these should be legal but that the community shaming that takes place is itself the regulative mechanism and is a good thing.

Communities' normative values and legal statutes are not the same thing as morality, though. My grandmother shames me and my wife for being feminists and for our sharing of traditional gender-assigned parenting and houeholding roles but we do it anyway and implicitly shame her for having no reasonable basis for her expectation of us.

This is called sociology, it's hardly an oppressive regime handed down by Big Brother or Bible thumpers, it's present in every community in history. In the Yanomamo tribe of Venezuela women consider it a badge of honor when the men go into a jealous fit and hack on them with a machete - if they live then the deepera nd more severe the scarring the more the community knows their man cares enough about them to be that angry and jealous. A man who did not do so would essentially be encouraging his wife to cheat and other men to pursue her. This is regulative and I would argue immoral!

Answer 3

Many cultures of the past had no problem with incest, especially powerful or royal families who wanted to maintain the purity of their bloodlines. They did not find it morally reprehensible. There is no innate repulsion against incest. Repulsion is a result of social conditioning.

Morals are spiritually based. Animals are not moral as they have no choice in their behaviors, but humans do. The point of moral behavior on earth is to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization. Since society is in a reciprocal relationship with the individual, moral individuals are necessary to create a moral society.

The behaviors you list would not serve an ever-advancing civilization as they are more likely to create chaos and disorder. We cannot separate human emotions, i.e., hurt and damage, resulting from behavior that does not honor the sacredness of life and the nobility of the human soul.

Answer 4

Our disgust of incest is the result of evolution. People who were naturally disgusted by the idea of mating with family were far less likely to do so. Their children were born with a lower rate of certain types of birth defects, and therefore had a higher survival rate than children of those who were not disgusted by incest.

Answer 5

Wright and wrong are not dependent upon believing in a higher power for all people.

I personally think that if someone wants to have an orgy then they should.

Incest is a whole other story. That's just wrong (as in gross). The type of relationship you have with members of your family does not involve sex. I guess if you have the urge to do your cousin and you're not very close to him/her then it wouldn't be weird.(It would be just another regular person)

PS I would never want to do any of my family.

Answer 6

There are not many people who would deny that sexuality is the most powerful force there is. It is society's number one task to keep that force channeled into productive paths, i.e. marriage and the family. The result of letting it get out of control is rampant disease and children without parents.

Answer 7

The body is the Lord's temple and we should keep it chaste at all times. Sex should be between a married couple only. If you did decide to have children would you want the mother of your children to have been with everyone sexually?