Transcript Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Ethics and Religion
Ethics:
 A system of moral principles, a way of deciding what is right
and wrong.
 Hedonism - belief that the goal of human life is pursuit of
pleasure, avoidance of pain and fulfillment of physical needs
and desires.
 Asceticism - an approach to life emphasizing discipline and
impulse control.
Legalism - following a moral law or set of principles.
Situationism - based on human experience, and in matters
of sexual morality, tends to focus on relationships rather
than rules.
 Few ethical systems are purely hedonistic or ascetic or
entirely legalistic or situationist - most lie between these
extremes.
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Classical Greek philosophy - violent passion must be
avoided to achieve wisdom and cultivate virtue.
 Pederasty - a sexual relationship between an older man
and a younger one.
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Judaism - sex seen as a deep and intimate part of a
relationship between two people.
Hebrew scriptures see sexual behavior as an aspect of
national and religious loyalty.
Fertility cult
 A form of nature-based religion
 Fertility of the soil is encouraged through various forms of
ritual magic
 Often includes ritual sexual intercourse
Christianity:
 The goal of life is to become purely spiritual by transcending the physical
and material side of life.
 Serious Christians revolted against the corrupt and worldly church of the
Roman Empire and began to practice forms of self-denial that included
celibacy.
 It is difficult, however, to derive a sexual ethic from the Gospels alone.
 Puritanism - emphasized the doctrine of “original sin” and the “total
depravity” of fallen humanity.
Humanism:
 A philosophical system which:
 Denies a divine origin for morality.
 Holds that ethical judgments must be made on the basis of human
experience and human reason.
Islam:
 Classical Islam values sexuality very positively:
 Muhammad saw intercourse in marriage as the highest good in
human life.
 Sex outside marriage is viewed as a sin.
 Islamic law encourages contraception.
Hinduism:
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The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana is a masterpiece of erotic hedonism.
Buddhism:
 Therevada - Includes strict nonindulgence of desires that bring joy.
 Mahayana - Ethics are more active and directed toward love of others.
 Tantric Buddhism - Teaches that sexual desire can be overcome while
engaging in intercourse.
Sex outside marriage:
 Fornication - Sex before marriage.
 Adultery (extramarital sex) - Sex by persons married to others.
 Has always been regarded as a grave matter in the Judeo-Christian
tradition.
Contraception:
 Roman Catholics and Orthodox Jews oppose any “artificial” means of
contraception.
 Other Jews and most Protestants favor responsible family planning by
married couples.
Abortion:
 One of the most convulsive debates of our time.
 Absolute - Pregnancy is solely the concern of a woman.
 Modified - Suggests there may be many situations in which abortion is
the least bad choice.
 Therapeutic abortion - termination of pregnancy when life or mental
health of the woman is threatened or in cases of trauma, such as incest
or rape.
Homosexuality:
 Rejectionism - Opposes any sexual acts between persons of the same
gender.
 Modified rejection or qualified acceptance - Regards homosexual
orientation as morally neutral but rejects homosexual acts.
AIDS:
 Has raised a host of complex and difficult ethical issues for individuals,
religious communities, and society as a whole.
 Religious responses range from declaring AIDS to be God’s punishment
on sinners to actively organizing to minister to persons with AIDS.
Cloning:
 Somatic cell nuclear transfer  Involves substituting the genetic material from an adult’s cell for the
nucleus in an egg.
 Therapeutic cloning - Creating tissues or cells that are genetically
identical to those of a patient, to treat a disease.