reply to post by DB340
Morality is a thing of relativity. Something can be "right" or "wrong"
in relation to a specific intent or desired outcome.
Some intents we humans tend to have in common, that are part of our biological evolution- like the intent to survive. That common intent makes murder
something we tend to consider "wrong" as a universal or static law.
But the word "murder" specifies killing someone against their will.
"Euthansia" of someone who wants to die and whose will is not transgressed, is another matter entirely, and falls out of that system towards that
intent.
There are collective intents- a group or community outlines an intent or goal they wish to achieve together.
That creates a set of morals relative to that goal, which become part of their culture.
Systems have right and wrong catagories within them, and what is right within one system can be wrong in another.
In your example, rape is not a quickie with a stranger. Rape is doing that quickie
against the will of that other.
Casual sex between people without emotional bonds is not rape. Yes, women can enjoy that and do.
Many women have some fantasies about forced sex this way, and yet..... they never enjoy being raped!
BUT
pretending to be raped and taken by force with a lover can be exciting and fulfilling- precisely because it is not REAL rape. Because it
allows them to face and experience that which they fear. Repulsion and attraction are just as closely linked as love and hate- the only distinguishing
factor is will.
You can be afraid of heights, and get a thrill from skydiving,
But not get any pleasure at all from having someone push you unexpectedly out of a plane.
One of those biological commonalities between us humans is the will to choose. Even the choice to not choose is a choice. That is- I can choose to
become passive and powerless in circumstance and context, and enjoy it. But having another choose for me that I will be passive and powerless is
something I feel a biological repulsion to, like most people. So we see that as a universal and static moral.
But for animals, for example, it might not be. They might not feel that desire to choose to who and what they become powerless to, in which case, the
moral no longer applies. They might, I don't know. I'm just pointing out that no matter how absolute we may view some morals, they might ALL be
relative.
edit on 11-11-2011 by Bluesma because: (no reason given)