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INTEGRAL SEXUAL ETHICS by Emily Ann Baratta December

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INTEGRAL SEXUAL ETHICS by Emily Ann Baratta December Thesis MA Integral Psychology Integral Sexual Ethics | 1 INTEGRAL SEXUAL ETHICS By Emily Ann Baratta December 2010 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Integral Psychology from The School of Holistic Studies at John F. Kennedy University Approved by: David Zeitler, MA, Thesis Advisor Date Vernice Solimar, PhD, Department Chair Date Emily Ann Baratta, Master’s Candidate Date Thesis MA Integral Psychology Integral Sexual Ethics | 2 [email protected] Thesis MA Integral Psychology Integral Sexual Ethics | 3 Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………6 Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………………7 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..………...8 Let’s Talk About Sex………………………………………………………………….…10 Integral Ethics……………………………………………………………………………………12 1st Person Perspectives – My Story…………………………………………………...…14 Cultural context……………………………………………………………..……17 Method………………………………………………………………………...…18 Structure………………………………………………………………….………19 Metaethics - Defining Goodness…………………………………………………………19 Metaethical orientation and action.………………………………….……...……22 Ethics and development.…………………………………….………...…24 Mechanics of moral intuition.……………………………………………………25 Normative Ethics……………………………………………………………………...…29 Moral typology in virtue ethics (the problem of free will)…………………...….33 My Will be done – ends…………………………………………….…….36 Deviance – means…………………………………………………..……38 Being Good………………………………………………………………………………42 The Good result.…….……………………………………………………………43 The Good act.…………….………………………………………………………44 The Good person.…………...……………………………………………………45 Integral Ethical Assessment: Abortion…………..………………………………………………47 Personal Exploration (Subjective Perspective).……………….…………………………49 Thesis MA Integral Psychology Integral Sexual Ethics | 4 Perspectives on Abortion (Intersubjective/Cultural Perspectives)…………………...….49 Stakeholders in Abortion (Objective/Systemic Perspective)…………………………….51 Behavior and Consequences (Objective Individual Perspective)………………………..54 Integral Abortion Ethics…………………………….……………………………………56 Envisioning how abortion should be.……………………………………………57 Building a conveyer belt.…………………………………...……………………59 Containment.………………………………………..……………………63 Intercourse………………………………………………………………………………..………65 Intrinsic Value & Sex……………………………………………………………….……68 1st Person Sexuality……………………………………………………………………….………69 Masturbation………………………………………………………………………..……69 Masturbation and the body.….…………………………………………...………72 Masturbation and relationship……………………………………………………75 Masturbation and the internet…………………………………………………....77 Porno-ization…………………………………………………..…………………82 Masturbation revisited……………………………………………………..…….84 Celibacy………………………………………………………………………….………85 Practicing chastity..………………………………………………………………89 2nd Person Sexuality……………………………………………………………………..………92 Sexual Orientation………………………………………………………………….……93 Gay marriage..……………………………………………………………………94 Slippery slopes.………………………………………………………..…97 Ends in intercourse..……………………………………………………….……103 Configuration………………………………………………………………………...…109 Sex and Spirit………………………………………………………………...…112 Thesis MA Integral Psychology Integral Sexual Ethics | 5 Open relating……………………………………………………………………113 The big caveat.…….……………………………………………………118 Practices……………………………………………...…………………………………119 Kink.…………………………...………………………….……………………122 Getting to normal...………………...………………………...…………………126 3rd Person Sexuality……………………………….……………………………………………132 Consequences……………………………………..……………………………………132 Disease (The curious case of bugchasers)………...……………………………133 Procreation.……………………………………………..………………………138 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………...…141 Endnotes……………………………………………………………………..…………………144 Glossary…………………………………………………………………………………..……147 References………………………………………………………………………………...……152 Thesis MA Integral Psychology Integral Sexual Ethics | 6 Abstract This paper examines sexual ethics through the framework of Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory. Using subjective, objective, intersubjective, and systemic approaches to the topic, I outline an Integral stance on human sexuality and relationship, including such divisive issues as gay marriage and abortion. Overall, I seek to remedy the excesses of postmodern relativism, by reintroducing moral standards which can be broadly applied. By reviving the best of traditional morality, while allowing room for diverse manifestations of central principles, we can avoid the excesses of postmodern relativistic approaches to sexuality. I also emphasize the moment of personal enactment of Goodness as the locus of individual morality. When we choose to do what we consider to be the “right thing,” we polarize our consciousness toward Good. Keywords: sexuality, Integral Theory, ethics, morality, sexual ethics Thesis MA Integral Psychology Integral Sexual Ethics | 7 Dedication This paper is dedicated to my parents, my sister, and my fiancé. Thank you for being there for me no matter what. Thesis MA Integral Psychology Integral Sexual Ethics | 8 Introduction Being good means doing the right thing. I can hear a thousand objections flaring up in reaction to that statement: What do you mean by good? How can you know what is right? Where is your evidence? My stance is that ultimately only I know if I have done my best. As I move through life, I am presented with opportunities to polarize my consciousness toward enacting Good. I have chances to follow through on my moral intuitions or to disregard and rationalize my way out of them, as I will attempt to show in this paper. Moral intuition is highly personal, yet surprisingly consistent between individuals, not only in objective content, but in phenomenological experience as well. That is, not only do we find similar sorts of things to be wrong, but we sense they are wrong in similar ways. Our moral intuition is conditioned by our emotions and our somatic experiences, while our mechanisms of meaning making (or un- making) are largely rational. Intuition and reason work together to inform our actions in the world. Intuition helps us aim, reason helps us fire. While we can learn to listen to our moral intuition and we can practice following through on right action, some domains are more morally difficult than others. It seems that we know the right thing to do most of the time, but sometimes we choose not to do it. For example, we would probably agree that polluting the environment is a bad thing. It does not require a high level of cognition to know this. A child could see a photo of factories spewing smoke into a blue sky and have a sense that something is wrong. In this case, reason would help us quantify the wrongness of pollution and reconfigure our systems of production to avoid polluting, however the basic moral intuition (BMI) is not contingent on reasoni. Yet, there are domains in which our BMI seems to go haywire. One of those domains is sex. Thesis MA Integral Psychology Integral Sexual Ethics | 9 When sex comes into play, it becomes difficult to trust the somatic and emotional markers that comprise moral intuition. It is as if we have our trusty compass guiding us North and suddenly a magnet comes in and the needle starts spinning. Sexual excitation seems to confuse the very machinery at the basis of our moral intuition; studies show that increased sexual arousal is analogous to alcohol in creating a sort of tunnel-vision, where the goal of having sex surpasses all other goals, including ethics and disease or pregnancy prevention (Ariely & Loewenstein, 2006, p. 95; Ditto, Pizarro, Epstein, Jacobsen, & MacDonald, 2006, p. 109). One result of this is that although we generally agree on broad ethical statements (stealing is wrong, environmental destruction is wrong), we disagree on the particulars (Is taxation theft? How much pollution is permissible?). When it comes to sex we do not agree on many of the basics. Today it seems that most discourse on sex is scientific, in the mode of disease prevention or drug development (e.g. Viagra), or religious, in debates on gay marriage or abortion. Sexual ethics in secular culture generally boils down to consent and the ethical question, “What should we do?” is often left out of either scientific or purely experiential studies. Once consent is settled, we have little guidance on what we ought to do regarding sex. At a recent workshop, I asked the group how they felt about the word “should”. The resounding sense was one of resentment and discomfort. Given our history of strict “shoulds” regarding sex, I anticipate some resistance to the idea of reintroducing anything resembling traditional mores. A multi-perspectival approach may help to soften the edges of the much needed progressive “Thou shalts” that I will outline in this paper. Starting with the foundations of ethical intuitionism in moral philosophy, psychology, theology, and biology, I will explore how we interpret and enact our moral intuition, making a case for the moment of choice as locus of Goodness in individuals. Finally, I will apply these Thesis MA Integral Psychology Integral Sexual Ethics | 10 findings to sexuality, examining why sex is ethically problematic, personally and collectively, and envision an Integral approach to sexual ethics. Let’s Talk About Sex Let's tell it how it is, and how it could be How it was, and of course, how it should be - Salt-N-Pepa, “Let’s Talk About Sex” For an act that is reputed to feel good and bring us closer together, sex is awfully controversial. The pleasures and pains of sexuality have been fodder for millennia of artistic expression and the raw materials of social engineering.
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