Is prostitution "immoral"?

[Banner]

The common trait to your analogy was how the participant felt about trying the activity on for size.
If "feeling" is the metric for determining immorality, then my analogy fits perfectly.

Lol you tell me how you determine morality. Seriously. It's all about feelings.

 

[Revoltingest]

Is it a fallacy? How do we determine morals then? How it makes us feel right? Look I'm not all about calling prostitution "wrong". Or whatever, hell I can argue that lawyers are immoral half the time. I'm just saying we have to ask ourselves these questions when determining the standards we want to place in our society. I firmly believe morals are relative and depend on conditioning. But selling your body seems to be universally frowned upon because...it's terribly invasive and demeaning to most people.

I have different premises for morals than you do it would seem.
2 consenting adults engage in some act which harms no one....OK by me, no matter how unseemly & frowned upon by others.

Want absolutely true morals?
I'm the wrong person to ask, being one of those nihilistic moral relativistic types.

Lol you tell me how you determine morality. Seriously. It's all about feelings.

Morality is what I feel to be moral.
Of course, others might have different morals.

 

[Banner]

I have different premises for morals than you do it would seem.
2 consenting adults engage in some act which harms no one....OK by me, no matter how unseemly & frowned upon by others.

Want absolutely true morals?
I'm the wrong person to ask, being one of those nihilistic moral relativistic types.

I feel like you didn't read my post. I said morals are relative. I agree with you...on that.

 

[CynthiaCypher]

Perhaps we don't "realize" that which is not there.
I say that it's society's dysfunctional reaction to working girls which causes harm.

The social cost has little to do with the legality or illegality of prostitution but it's overall affects upon society. It endangers the social order, it endangers segments of society that should not be endangered.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

So far everyone has been talking about the individuals involved as if it just involves the simple transaction of goods and services. But what most of you fail to realize is that prostitution has a social cost harms society.

Does it harm it or challenge it?

 

[CynthiaCypher]

If I met a gorgeous, generous, kind man tomorrow and he told me he'd pay me a million dollars to have sex with him...I might could accept that indecent proposal without feeling the least bit immoral. But that's not really what this is about is it? That's not what 99.9% of prostitution is. Happy well adjusted people making business transactions lol...

It is definitely not "Pretty Woman".

 

[CynthiaCypher]

Does it harm it or challenge it?

And how would it challenge it in any positive way? Prostitution is no vehicle for positive social change nor can it ever be.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

It is definitely not "Pretty Woman".

It could be if prostitution was legal, instead of getting just (how my dad defines them) "raggies" buying you all the time, you'd get anyone willing for sex, and you could decide yes or no. If they keep threatening you you could call the police without the fear of getting arrested for prostitution.

 

[Revoltingest]

I feel like you didn't read my post. I said morals are relative. I agree with you...on that.

I mistakenly detected sarcasm.
Woo hoo! 2 moral relativists in 1 thread!

 

[McBell]

Is it a fallacy?

Yes.

How do we determine morals then?

Different people determine in different ways.
You seem to like the appeal to emotion approach.
No worries there, lots and lots of people do.

How it makes us feel right?

If you determine right from wrong based upon how you feel, then by all means go right ahead.
Just do not expect everyone else to agree with you.

Look I'm not all about calling prostitution "wrong". Or whatever, hell I can argue that lawyers are immoral half the time. I'm just saying we have to ask ourselves these questions when determining the standards we want to place in our society. I firmly believe morals are relative and depend on conditioning. But selling your body seems to be universally frowned upon because...it's terribly invasive and demeaning to most people.

Prostitution is not universally frowned upon.
this is evidenced remarkably well by the fact that all attempts to stop it have been complete and utter fails.

 

[McBell]

And how would it challenge it in any positive way? Prostitution is no vehicle for positive social change nor can it ever be.

:biglaugh:

I think I need to go get my chest waders.

It is getting deep in this thread.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

And how would it challenge it in any positive way? Prostitution is no vehicle for positive social change nor can it ever be.

Our society has some major issues with sex. Despite it coming more out of the closet, there is still a lot of shame related to it. The very idea of regulating something in modern America that has been with civilized society since its inception would challenge the assumption that sex is inherently dirty and needs to be covered up and stored away.

 

[CynthiaCypher]

I mistakenly detected sarcasm.
Woo hoo! 2 moral relativists in 1 thread!

Moral relativism must be fun. I am more of an moral objectivist than anything else. All the Ayn Rand I read as a teen is still with me.

 

[Revoltingest]

Moral relativism must be fun. I am more of an moral objectivist than anything else. All the Ayn Rand I read as a teen is still with me.

I read her too, & found her perspective illuminating.
But her premises were still just what she chose.
No absolute truth there.

 

[CynthiaCypher]

Our society has some major issues with sex. Despite it coming more out of the closet, there is still a lot of shame related to it. The very idea of regulating something in modern America that has been with civilized society since its inception would challenge the assumption that sex is inherently dirty and needs to be covered up and stored away.

Yes. Our society is puritanical and hypocritical when it comes to sex. But how does prostitution challenge that? I don't think it does but in some ways helps perpetuate it.

And wouldn't education be more helpful? Teaching people that their sexuality is nothing to be ashamed of as long as it doesn't harm?

 

[McBell]

I read her too, & found her perspective illuminating.
But her premises were still just what she chose.
No absolute truth there.

the objectivism is not in the truth, but in the person who objectifies what they want.

 

[Draka]

The social cost has little to do with the legality or illegality of prostitution but it's overall affects upon society. It endangers the social order, it endangers segments of society that should not be endangered.

What "social order" is being endangered?

 

[CynthiaCypher]

What "social order" is being endangered?

The family for one.

 

[Revoltingest]

The family for one.

It hasn't endangered my family.
How would this happen?

 

[Draka]

Yes. Our society is puritanical and hypocritical when it comes to sex. But how does prostitution challenge that? I don't think it does but in some ways helps perpetuate it.

And wouldn't education be more helpful? Teaching people that their sexuality is nothing to be ashamed of as long as it doesn't harm?

If a person's sexuality is nothing to be ashamed of, and they aren't harming anyone, then why should a person using their sexuality however they want be looked upon as doing something immoral? Aren't you kind of defeating your own position here?