The Ethics of Sex

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

standard

An average of 10 hours per week

None.

None.

Students enrolling in this subject must have completed a Bachelor of Arts degree.

None.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

The subject explores the nature and moral significance of sex and the central issues in sexual morality. In the first part we look into the main conceptions of human sexuality: the traditional view of sex as meant for procreation, the 'romantic' view of sex as bound up with love, the understanding of sex as a body language, and the hedonist or 'plain sex' view. In the second part we discuss monogamy, adultery, prostitution, homosexuality, sexual harassment, and rape

Students who successfully complete this subject will

• have developed an understanding of the major philosophical theories of sexual morality
• be able to apply this understanding in providing a critique of social norms and policy governing sexual behaviour

A 5000-word research essay 100% (due at the end of semester).

Hurdle Requirement: Students are required to attend a minimum of 75% of classes in order to pass this subject. Regular participation in class is required. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 2% per working day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

Ethics and Sex (Igor Primoratz) London and New York: Routledge, 1999

Igor Primoratz (ed.), Human Sexuality, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 1997

Alan Soble (ed.), Sex from Plato to Paglia: A Philosophical Encyclopedia, Westport, CN and London: Greenwood Press, 2006

Donald Phillip Verene (ed.), Sexual Love in Western Philosophy, 2 nd edn., Boston: Jones & Bartlett, 1995

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who successfully complete this subject will:

• have improved their ability to integrate abstract moral and conceptual considerations with relevant empirical data
• have refined the skills necessary for original research by developing the capacity to think rigorously, imaginatively and critically about abstract topics
• have refined the skills required for written communication of research
• have strengthened their ability to comprehend and evaluate complex argumentative texts