What Would Kant Think About Prostitution?

514 Words2 Pages

What Would Kant Think About Prostitution? Presenting the issue of prostitution which is defined as “the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment” would not be living life in accordance to Kant’s beliefs. In Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant asserted that rational beings can never be treated merely as a means to an ends, they must always also be treated as an ends themselves. In prostitution men are using women as a mere means to their ends, to achieve sensual pleasure, but it is also true that women are so agreeing to be used as a means to achieve their ends, to earn money. Maxim All college students will prostitute themselves to pay for tuition. In a hypothetical world with the universalized maxim that, all college students have to prostitute themselves in order to pay for tuition it would be a contradiction in will. The world would be possible but willing it to be would be a contradiction in an individual’s own will. As Kant says, “This maxim lacks moral content, and partaking in it to further your education would not be fro...

Show More
Related

  • The Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout Kant’s, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals, some questionable ideas are portrayed. These ideas conflict with the present views of most people living today.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Business Prostitution

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many argue that prostitution is along the same line as any other business transaction considering similar actions taken to go through the process. I will argue that performing a consensual or nonconsensual sexual act including a transfer of money cannot be considered as one. In this essay, I will be focusing on women in the Canadian sex trade and how the service they provide is not a legitimate purchase.There are several factors to assist this argument that include the facts and terminology behind businesses, transactions, employment, legality, and the act being performed. The process for an individual to acquire a prostitute contains a transaction through an exchange of money, but is it a business transaction, no.

    Read More

  • Kantian Morality: Dissecting the Deferential Husband

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    The original argument emphasizes the husband’s perception of himself as a means, which opposes Kant’s view of morality as the treatment of all rational beings as ends. In order for the husband to behave morally, he must treat both himself and his wife as ends. By considering himself as a means for his wife, he breeds contradiction between treating his wife as an end from a moral sense of duty and making an exception for himself. The former suggests that he recognizes the importance of universal morality and viewing all people as ends, but the latter suggests that he applies a different standard to

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism On Prostitution

    383 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the world, one of the biggest ethical issues that have caused controversy and debate is prostitution. In many countries of the world, prostitution is still considered as illegal; only in few countries, it is legal. According to the utilitarian theories, “the ethical goal is a life rich in pleasure or happiness both in point of quality and quality for the greatest number of people”. Every individual seeks to reduce suffering and increase pleasure or happiness in his or her lives. In Gujarat India, women have been popular for supporting their families through prostitution, while men in this town are pimps and the culture has been existing for centuries, because of which it is difficult to even put an end to it. Act utilitarianism approaches

    Read More

  • Sexual Use and What to Do about It

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    Immanuel Kant defines his second formulation of the Categorical Imperative as knowing the value of a person. It is demeaning to use a person without his or her consent for self-gratification, especially sexually. Kant describes this as using a person simply to serve a means rather than an end, simply put rather than being a concrete loving act with the end of creating new life sex treated as only “scratching an itch”. The idea that Kant, “must take on the other’s ends for their own sake, not because that is an effective way to advance my goals in using the other,” is a way of saying that a man must care enough about the other person treat them as fairly and justly as he wants to be treated (Soble 228). To Soble the “Kantian sex problem” is at the root rather or not all of Kant’s requirements can be met at all in sexual activity¬¬. As Kant lays out all that goes into the second formulation of the Categorical Imperative he describes taking on one another’s ends, but also what it means to make a person simply an end to one’s own needs.

    Read More

  • Prostitution in Pompeii

    2765 Words  | 6 Pages

    Prostitution, as stated by Flemming, is known as a form of sexual activity, a kind of sexual style or category, and a form of economic activity, a way of making a living through the provisions of certain services, by behaving in accordance with, or falling into such a category (39). This definition, though, is controversial. While conducting research for this project, we found that most topics regarding prostitution and its affiliates were controversial. Each author gave a differing interpretation for the same data. Due to this, our project centered on the female prostitutes, even though there is evidence of male prostitutes.

    Read More

  • Should We Decriminalize Prostitution Essay

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    The new laws that have to be made for prostitution have to “respect the fact that sex workers are human beings too”. Critics think that decriminalizing prostitution is going to get worse and increase human trafficking. The authors of the article came up with an idea that meets in the middle of decriminalizing prostitution. The idea is to decriminalize the selling of sex but criminalize the buying of sex. This will help protect the human rights of people in prostitution while reducing the demands for paid sex.

    Read More

  • History Of Prostitution In America

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    With prostitution still arising and thriving in present day America the Argument and war waged on it by media has changed from an advocated perspective, to being seen as present day slavery among women. Especially with modern practices of forced trafficking and drugged prostitution. the views have changed from one of a women's private and personal freedom of choice, to one of "the ones who weren't lucky enough to get away from being drugged, kidnapped and forced into slaved prostitution."

    Read More

  • Sex- Prostitution and The Value of Sex

    1535 Words  | 4 Pages

    Elizabeth Anderson makes a claim that “The attempt to sell gift value on the market makes a mockery of those values.”(Anderson 188) Anderson uses this claim to object commoditized sex (prostitution). There are two premises that Anderson uses to support her claim. The first premise being the gift value of sex cannot be realized in commercial terms and the second premise being that the gift value of sex is more significant that the use value of sex itself.

    Read More

  • Prostitution as a Form of Deviance

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    In sociology, the term deviance refers to all violations of social rules, regardless of their seriousness (Essentials of Sociology 136). Deviance is an individual or organizational behavior that violates societal norms and is usually accompanied by negative reactions from others. According to a sociologist S. Becker, he stated that it is not the act itself that makes an action deviant, but rather how society reacts to it.

    Read More

  • Prostitution and Functionalism

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout America and the entire world, prostitution flourishes. Prostitution is another never ending war like abortion, which society feels is immoral. This immorality leads functionalists, who apply functionalism to this social problem, on a chase to figure out why prostitution is what it is today. Functionalism is the best theory for looking at prostitution. It allows us to see how prostitution changes along with other aspects of society.

    Read More

  • Why Is Prostitution Ethical

    2236 Words  | 5 Pages

    Prostitution is one of the most controversial topics that is constantly debated. Prostitution occurs when a person sells themselves for money to pleasure others. It is illegal in many places, but yet still seems to be prevalent. The question that is often debated is, “Is prostitution ethical?” Utilitarianist, Jeremy Bentham and Deontologist Immanuel Kant both view prostitution as an unethical act. They both have slightly different reasons as to why they think of prostitution as unethical. Bentham’s method of Hedonic Calculus and Immanuel Kant’s “means to an end” test, and duties to oneself, will demonstrate how prostitution is unethical. I will also be defending the view that prostitution is unethical.

    Read More

  • Human Trafficking In Kant's Categorical Imperative

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    While these victims are held captive, physical as well as psychological trauma is being inflicted on them. Victims of sex trafficking are stripped entirely of their rights, freedom, and humanity. This can leave emotional as well as physical scars on the victims. Erin Weaver says that in most cases, the person is physically branded with a tattoo, marking them as property. The recovery for someone who has suffered through trafficking is often difficult but not impossible. The victims, however, are not the only ones suffering from trafficking. Whole communities are often affected by this sort of activity. While trafficking is going on, the slaves are forced to entertain as many as 20-40 men daily and protection is rarely used. You can imagine how quickly diseases are spread. Men take these sicknesses home to their wives or partners and soon the whole community is going to be suffering from illnesses.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Should Prostitution Be Legalized?

    1449 Words  | 3 Pages

    In addition, prostitution should not be legalized because it violated the human rights, and the true equality of women. It violated the human rights because the prostitution use woman body as a goods that can trade or sell. In the world of prostitution, it mainly uses woman body to satisfy the desired about sex. In addition, prostitution again the women’s right. One of the perfectly reasons that supply for argument again prostitution is protecting vulnerable women. We cannot live in the society where highly recommend and respect woman, while legalized prostitution. Because they are contradictory and opposing each other. Furthermore, the violence that women were subjected to was an undercover part of the prostitution and sexual exploitation. Violence was used to initiate

    Read More

  • Reflection About Prostitution

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    In many cases society has tried to tell you that prostitution is bad, weather it is through movies, books, religious text and many other influential aspects of society, due to the nature of the people who they portray in the act. I believe if people were properly educated into the science of sex, having sex for money would not be considered such a bad thing. When I attended prep school, I met many other kids from Europe, and let’s sat they were a little more comfortable with their sexuality, and in a few of their countries prostitution was even legal.

    Read More

More about What Would Kant Think About Prostitution?

Open Document