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I had another thread on Self Knowledge similar to this but maybe the philosophy board can help me out with this one. I was conversing with someone who is very anti-porn and after considering FDR's perspective, he gave an argument that I can't seem to rebut on why it is immoral to consume porn. The argument goes like this: Harming children (or anyone) is morally wrong (considering it's not self-defense). Consider the fact that IT IS POSSIBLE that there is a child, young adult, or likewise out there that is emotionally needy or unstable. This child COULD go onto the internet and seek out ways to combat his anxiety and emotional emptiness. Porn is one of the most common methods of pain erasure. If you go onto a porn site and click a video, that video has a counter for views and most likely has ads that support the site financially. By doing this, you potentially give money to the site allowing it to stay up that much longer, expand that much bigger, and increase that particular video's popularity to the point where it's more likely to show up on searches. Now considering all this, your actions COULD have led to this kid or person finding this video and becoming aroused/addicted to this new form of pain management which has a chance of consuming their lives due to their lack of innate self-knowledge. Therefor, porn consumption is wrong due to the possibility of it doing harm to others. You will never know whether or not clicking on that porn video will have that butterfly effect, therefor not clicking in the first place is the only moral option. This argument seems to make logical sense but the total condemnation of porn based on what could potentially happen to someone somewhere that you'd have no idea about just seems a little self-attacky for me. I can't put my finger on why though. Thoughts?

This is a question that I've long sought an answer to but could never pin down. It's a topic I've only rarely heard discussed on the show, the most recent being the interview with Gary Wilson who wrote Your Brain On Porn (highly recommended). Basically, is pornography of any kind morally wrong to consume? If so, what is the argument that pins it to the wall so we can help perpetrators see their immorality? If not, should we treat it as an addictive behavior/substance? Like booze or opiates? Or should we be hands off in addressing it? I personally see nothing morally wrong with a guy in his room consuming weird fetish pornography, just like a guy smoking on his balcony. He isn't committing rape, theft, assault or murder, so his actions don't violate UPB. It's a different case however if he's supporting (or funding) pornography in which UPB is being violated, the content of that example I'm sure you can fill in yourselves. At the same time, I can't help but get this feeling or voice in the back of my head that tells me something is wrong. That this has an air of destructiveness that can have devastating effects on a person's life. It goes deeper than a nicotine addiction does, because sexuality is something so personal and intimate. This feels like a totally different beast that I can't get good philosophical footing on. Maybe I'm over-thinking it and if twenty-year-olds wanna watch hentai then there's nothing wrong with that, but something feels off. As for Stef's views on this, I've extracted little tid-bits from shows, one about sexual fetishism where he said sexual fetishism needs to be corrected, and in the same show he questioned the listener on his openness about his fetish with his mother. He said "How do you talk about this stuff with your mom? 'I like it this way with whip cream and a dinosaur toy-' this is just something I never wanna hear from my children." And he didn't say it in an angry or condemning way, but in a joking sort of "that's private and should stay private". The show is titled The Origins Of Sexual Fetishism for those interested. In conclusion, here's my best "argument" against the consumption of pornography that I'm unsure of: Why would you need porn to be aroused if you're in a relationship? What is it about your significant other that is lacking in the sexual department? Shouldn't your lover be the only source of arousal in your life? Porn is wrong to consume because you pledge your sexual arousal to your partner, and them to you, so using porn is like going to a prostitute or cheating. All done for sexual needs at the neglect of your partner. So what are your guys's opinions on this? Link me a previous thread if it's been talked about before.

I've never heard Stefan talk about this but it sure needs more attention. I don't think "Genocide by Ignorance " is overstating it. It's no wonder why Transsexualism and male feminization is on the rise. The Disappearing Male And this BBC Documentary from 1996. Assault on the Male

I made a new video. This time it's about sexual objectification and the absurdity of feminist depictions of male sexuality. There are some decent jokes, a photo of me as a young boy and a sneak peak at Fifty Shades of Grey, the movie. I had a lot of fun writing and shooting this one, and I think you'll like it too.

Hello everyone, I wanted to share my life coaching and therapy business with the community: www.aswtherapy.com If anyone is looking for therapy or self-knowledge work, I am available via Skype. I have worked for several years as an adult and family therapist in different countries with a focus on relationships, abuse, sexuality, career-development, self-knowledge, etc. I hope I can help you or someone you may know.

Hey Guys! I was the first caller on the March 16th Sunday show. Twas a great conversation, but there wasn't time to go into my question (title of this post). I'd like to chat with Stef about it soon, so I'll check with Mike about that. I'll put this in context of my life, so we have some thing to work with. I'm a bisexual man (meaning, I can, and have, form romantic & sexual bonds with either gender - gender neutral you could say), and have often wondered how the absence of a father effected me in this regard. I don't have any close male friends - romantic or friendship - that I would consider fulfilling. In general, I find the male physique more impressive than the female, though they both have their attractions, depending on the person. What I care about, of course, is the mind, moral solidarity. I'd often get jests about how I could play both sides by having more choice ... not really true, because gender doesn't matter to me. I'm very lucky to be with a woman with whom I share a strong moral and philosophical solidarity. But, I still desire a fulfilling male presence. Perhaps I always will. Perhaps that little boy, that still waits by the window for an absent father) will always feel that yearning. I dunno. Mike asked an interesting question: What would happen to my attraction to men, if I were to have a fulfilling male relationship in my life? I'm open for a group skype chat about this as well, if anybody is interested. This question has always fascinated me. So, what do you guys think? What effect, if any, could a fatherless childhood have on sexuality?

Howdy, everyone! Just wanted to introduce myself and two of my major philosophical interests, hoping to get some feedback and discussion going. I'm on the west coast of Canada, have formally studied philosophy in university as an undergraduate (Minor in Philosophy - diverse coursework in the philosophy of: ancient Greeks, Medievals, ethics, politics, religion/metaphysics, art/literature), and am a Roman Catholic. Two of my major interests, at present are explored in these posts by me on my writings blog: "The Gay Identity Today" - basically, that most people get the concept of "gay" wrong, classifying it in the same character trait categories as gender or race... it is different, there are psycho-sexual issues, cultural identity-issues, and political issues at play, and that changes the discussion in a big way. "Exploring the Legitimacy of Society, Alternate Societies, Religions, Cults, and Antagonistic Subcultures –draft–" -- my brain-storming page, a post-in-progress, but basically I am trying to explore the difference between primary society (i.e. - the state) and alternative societies (e.g. - the mafia, religions, cult communities, etc.) and the compared moral legitimacy of them. Philosophically, I am also interested in and trying to explore the topics of: morality's role in state legislation (e.g. - should all vices be criminalized?), the myth of the secular and religion vs. ideology, Canadian politics, global politics, business, culture (the non-formal public sphere), and society (the formal/political/legal public sphere). One major issue that I think affects modern morality discourses today is the use of the Rights framework, and I think it is a horrible language for talking about morality, because it is a haphazard and incomplete moral theory... I explored this topic here: "The Errors of 'Rights' and Political Religions" Anyway, that's a good start for what I am interested to engage with here... feel free to message me, or suggest threads that I should check-out... if you're on the west-coast, let's grab a coffee and pick a topic! Cheers!