Philosophy of Love and Sex

A bit about Me George Belic Background PhD Candidate (graduating summer 2019) in Philosophy at U of Florida Masters in Philosophy from University of Alberta Computer Science (BSc.) from Ryerson! Email (primary): george.belic@sheridancollege.ca Email (secondary): SLATE Email Office: B588 Office Hours: Thursdays, 1-2pm

Course Information SLATE Your Responsibility Accommodations Syllabus, readings, and assignments Announcements about deadlines and course changes Your Responsibility Attend class and participate Be courteous and respectful to everyone in class Hand in all assignments on time Get in touch with me as soon as possible if there is an emergency Accommodations If working with Accessibility Center, get in touch as soon as possible

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What is Philosophy? 1

Philosophical Problems Example: moral issues: Is it morally wrong/right to …? Love: Am I treating my partner (wife, boyfriend) wrongly or not? Abortion: should I abort a pregnancy? Does my partner have any say in the matter? War: Is my government acting wrongly by going to war? The Philosophers’ Way of Answering These Questions First: Understand what friendship, love, or just war are Second: look at your circumstances and see

Many Areas of Philosophy Ethics Business Ethics Medical Ethics Animals Ethics Science Philosophy of Physics Philosophy of Biology Others Philosophy of Art

Main Branches of Philosophy Metaphysics: study of general features of reality. Epistemology: study of nature of human knowledge. Ethics: study of morally right/wrong action Political Philosophy: study of the nature of political systems

How is Philosophy Practically Useful? Skills: thinking clearly and creatively, effective writing and presentation Preparation for other humanities programs Preparation for Post-Graduate Exams: GRE (any other graduate program), LSAT (Law school), GMAT (MBA) Money!: philosophy graduates have higher paying non- academic jobs than most other programs

Philosophy of Love and Sex 2 With a Disclaimer

Central Concepts and Issues Central Concepts: sex and love Lust, Perversion Love: Erotic, Romantic, Friendship Marriage, Gender Two Kinds of Central Issues Ethical: issues about moral right/wrong, good/bad Ex. under what circumstances is sex morally wrong or bad? Ex. under what circumstances do we discriminate based on gender? Metaphysical: issues about the nature of something Ex. what is love? Ex. what is gender?

Sex and Love are Everywhere Fantasizing about love, romance Finding true love is a highlight in anyone’s life Separation are devastating Advertising Cosmetics Clubbing/Bar-hoping

How many sexual partners do we have during our lives? Global average 3-4 partners during a lifetime US/Canada average is about 7-9. Is premarital sex morally wrong? Global views vary widely Premarital sex is wrong. Indonesia: 98% India: 75% US: 40% Canada: 20% France: 2%

Two Opposing View on Morality of Sex Traditional: Premarital sex is morally wrong Modern: Premarital sex is NOT morally wrong. Differences of on opinion about i) How much sex should/shouldn’t one have with one partner Ii) How many (informed) partners one should/shouldn’t have sex with Iii) what KINDS of sexual acts are wrong? masturbation, fetishes, etc.

Next Week: Plato’s Symposium Plato (428-348BC): famous, ancient Greek philosopher Socrates (470-399BC): Plato’s teacher Plato’s views are expressed through Socrates in the dialogue A symposium is a dinner party: lots of drinking, speeches and often sex Plato’s Symposium is about love: what is love? Pederasty = sex with adult males and teenage boys Although the work centers around love between adult males and boys, it is really about any kind of love relationships