(for 2007-8 SHS Philosophy Club Members only)
Provide our club with an argument that a certain human action (choose any action you want) is absolutely right/moral OR absolutely wrong/immoral at ALL times and in ALL circumstances. Share your argument on this blog and/or at our next meeting. The member who's argument is accepted by the largest percentage of our membership wins $20 (the prize may be cash, or a $20 gift certificate, I haven't decided yet).
BTW, here is an interesting discussion about absolute vs. relative truth that touches on mathematics, ethics, philosophy, and theology...
6 comments:
oh mr. b
you so crazy
rape.
rape.
Some (relatively old) statistics:
Every two and a half minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually assaulted by age 18 (1990) On average, from 1992-2000, only 31% of all rapes and sexual victimizations were reported to the police (2000) Probability that an arrest will be made when a rape is reported: 50.8% (1999) The overall probability that a rapist will be sent to prison for his crime: 16.3%. The average sentence: 128 days. (1999) 7 in 10 rape and sexual assault victims know their attacker prior to the assault. (2000) Of female Americans who are raped, 54% experience their first rape before age 18. Persons under 18 years of age account for 67% of all sexual assault victimizations reported to law enforcement agencies. Children under 12 years old account for 34% of those cases and children under six years account for 14% of those cases (2000). 1.8 million of the 22.3 million adolescents in the United States have been sexually assaulted. Teens 16 to 19 years of age were three and a half times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault (2000). 69% of teen sexual assaults reported to law enforcement occurred in the residence of the victim, the offender, or another individual (2000). In one year over 4,000 incidents of rape or other types of sexual assault occurred in public schools across the country (1997). 23% of all sexual offenders are under the age of 18 (2000).
Statistically speaking, 3.5 female members and 1.5 male members of our 23 member club have been, or will be sexually assaulted by the time they are 18 years old. This is NOT a topic we should discuss lightly.
A significant number of my friends and family have been sexually abused… molested and/or raped. My dad has worked for DCYF my whole life… which means I’ve heard the ugliest stories about the ugliest people committing the ugliest abuses on the most beautifully innocent of children. I find sexual abuse so disturbing that I have to turn the TV station when such trespasses are even hinted at, let alone acted out as ‘entertainment’. I’ve given up even trying to watch shows such as CSI and ‘Law and Order’… shows that betray their own names… shows notorious for exploiting this episode’s new crimes and villains, new and more perverse than last week's writers were able to dream up… disgusting.
It’s hard for me to even begin to think philosophically about rape. It’s a topic that gets me so emotionally charged, I struggle to think rationally… if I 'think' anything, it’s akin to the scene in V for Vendetta where the priest gets his due…
Nonetheless, I will push myself into an uncomfortable place in an attempt to challenge all of us to face the question: is rape absolutely wrong, in all circumstances, and at all times? If so, why?
Just a couple years ago, a SHS P-Club member announced to our entire club that after spending a significant amount of money on a date, he expects sex in return. At best, that’s prostitution. At worst, it’s rape… in our cozy rural town. Cast your gaze a bit further, to cities, cultures, and countries beyond, and you’ll find sex crimes so rampant, you’ve got to wonder if people (men mostly) REALLY believe rape is wrong.
So… playing devil’s advocate, which I DON’T do lightly, here goes:
If a male student in our school gives a ‘wet willie’ to a female student (licks his finger and sticks it in her ear), he probably won’t get reported. But if he does get 'caught', I imagine our administration might give him an hour of detention (at best) or a ‘stern’ talking-to (at worst).
If that same male student is convicted of rape, it’s an entirely different story. I needn’t elaborate on the similarity of the trespasses… so why is there a huge disparity between the respective punishments?
Why is rape ethically/morally worse than a wet-willie? What ethical foundation supports such a judgment?
(I’ve known students who admit little (if any) difference between date rape and wet-willies… Again, I don't intend any irreverence… I’m only trying to expose and critique the philosophical premises by which we (and others) establish right and wrong).
Rape is such a sad and pointless thing...Im gonna cry now...
Its definetly NOT something we should take seriously, but something we should ponder about and discuss on thursday.
"It's definitly NOT something we should take seriously?"
...is that what you meant to type? Can you explain?
WE SHOULD TAKE IT SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS GROSS AND WRONG!!!! BARBARIAN-LIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i ment we should talk about it on thursday.
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