Known as the world\u2019s oldest profession, prostitution has always been present in society. However, the moral viewpoint regarding prostitution is not so consistent, the act being legal and regularised within some countries and punishable by death in others. <\/p>\n
The aim of my project is to therefore attempt to find an answer to the ambiguity which surrounds the morality of prostitution. Looking only at a case of prostitution between two consensual agents – as any other example would clearly involve an inherently wrong violation of freedom – I will examine prostitution in the light of three prominent moral philosophical theories: <\/p>\n
\u2022 Utilitarianism
\n\u2022 Kantian Ethics
\n\u2022 Hegelian Ethics <\/p>\n
The choice of these particular theories is not only because they are notable moral arguments but also because they are very diverse theories. <\/p>\n
This diversity consequently allows a balanced and thorough investigation into the morality of prostitution.
\nWith regards to Utilitarianism, I will study Bentham\u2019s \u2018hedonistic calculus\u2019 and Mill\u2019s \u2018greatest happiness\u2019 and \u2018harm principle\u2019. <\/p>\n
The application of Kant\u2019s ethics means a study of prostitution under the categorical imperative. <\/p>\n
Finally, prostitution in relation to Hegelian ethics involves an exploration into freedom and the societal values which can uphold this freedom. <\/p>\n
Ultimately, I hope to reach a credible conclusion as to the morality of prostitution answering pertinent questions such as, does sex have an inherent special quality which should disallow it to be used as a commodity? And can the legalisation of prostitution ever be considered worthwhile for society? <\/p>\n
\u2018Prostitution testifies to the amoral power struggle of sex…. Prostitutes, pornographers, and their patrons are marauders in the forest of archaic night.\u2019 \u2013 Camille Paglia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Josephine Smith, 2010, Stage 2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8792,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564,22,128],"tags":[21,237,170],"class_list":["post-1919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-564","category-abstracts","category-stage-2-abstracts","tag-ethics","tag-prostitution","tag-utilitarianism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8792"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1919\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}