Category: Sexual Ethics

  • OCR Specification Sexual Ethics

    We are required to apply Natural Law, Kantian ethics, Utilitarianism (both act and rule) and Situation ethics to three areas (sex before marriage, adultery and homosexuality).

  • Exam Questions OCR new spec

    Here are some possible future exam questions on sexual ethics. Remember to practise applying any of the four major ethical theories listed in the specification to ‘issues surrounding’ sexual ethics: Utilitarianism (act and rule), Kantian ethics, Natural Law (and Roman Catholic encyclicals which apply natural law such as Humanae Vitae 1968), and Situation Ethics. For…

  • Handout: Sexual Ethics Jonathan Rowe

    SEXUAL ETHICS Jonathan Rowe  An ethical dilemma is a situation where, however you react, you seem to be doing the wrong thing. One well-known example of an ethical dilemma is given by Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre asks us to imagine a young man who lives with his mother; he is her only happiness in life. But…

  • Sexual Ethics Summary

    A Summary: Sexual Ethics You should be able to outline the debate surrounding a number of key issues. These should include marital/non-marital/extra-marital sex, & homosexuality. You should also be able to explain the distinction between absolutist (Kantian, Natural law) and relativist (Utilitarian or situationist) approaches to sexual ethics. Sex and Marriage Marital sex is sex…

  • Video: Tea and Consent

    This Metropolitan Police Video encourages students to take the principle of consent seriously by likening consent to making a cup of tea.

  • Starter Activity A letter from a woman subjected to sexual violence

    This powerful letter was written by a woman subjected to an attempted rape. I found it a moving way to expose some of the issues surrounding sexual behaviour in an age of autonomy. https://www.indy100.com/article/woman-s-open-letter-to-man-who-tried-to-rape-her-viral-rape-culture-7482596 Dear individual, I write to you on this cold December evening, almost one year after you tried to rape me, because…

  • Case Study 1864 Contagious Diseases Act and Exploitation of Women

    The 1864 Contagious Diseases act was supposed to limit the spread of venereal diseases among armed forces personnel. but instead of targeting men, vulnerable women became labelled, arrested and confined in hospital. Innocent women could be arrested and also labelled as a prostitute, with the attendant social stigma. Women were bearing the defects of the…

  • Essay: Natural Law is the best approach to sexual ethics. Discuss

    Natural Law is the most reliable approach when making decisions about pre-marital sex. Discuss. I found this essay very interesting because it shows how students fundamentally misunderstand – and so mishandle- natural law theory, imputing things to it which should never be imputed.  A straw man in logic is one you set up in order…

  • Case Study Powerpoint: Homosexuality And Discrimination

    In 2008 a gay couple in a civil partnership book in to a Cornish Bed & Breakfast run according to traditional Christian values.  The owners turn them away when the couple insist on sharing a room.  The case goes to court.  What are the rights and wrongs in this case? What does the judge (Judge…

  • EXERCISE: A Sexual Bill of Rights

    The following Bill of Rights represents a rationalist approach to sexual ethics. Taking the Bill of Rights, either by giving different sections to different groups within a class or as a personal analysis, where do we find influences or  echoes from our major ethical theories (Kant, Natural Law, Utilitarianism, Situation Ethics, Virtue Ethics)?  In what…