Five Approaches to Ethics of Sexuality? The Consequences of the Asymmetric Argument by David Benatar for the Ethics of Sexual Behaviour

Abstract

This paper deals with possible approaches to ethics of sexuality, with their advantages and disadvantages. Ethics of sexuality is not considered in terms of moralising, also sexuality is not limited only to coitus but it is considered in its broader meaning including the vast area of human seduction, hesitation and ado. Four classic approaches to sexual ethics are described: traditionalistic, romantic, Marxist-feminist and liberal, though, the antinatalist approach based on the asymmetric argument by David Benatar published in his work Better Never to Have Been is considered too. Benatar’s antinatalism creates sexual ethics in which only non-procreative sex can be moral. Even though this fifth, antinatalist approach is quite controversial and is not intuitive at all, its extremity is not very different from the traditionalistic approach, in which only procreative sex is moral. When considering sexual ethics, these two approaches can be put in opposition as two extremes, while liberal approach, the only one which does not see sexual ethics different from ethics of any other human conduct will play a part of the middle path between extremes.