Sexual Ethics in a Secular Age: Is There Still a Virtue of Chastity? PDF
Preview Sexual Ethics in a Secular Age: Is There Still a Virtue of Chastity?
Chastity is a virtue easily misunderstood. To a secular ear it sounds out- dated, old-fashioned, and paternalistic. This collection of essays offers a fresh and valuable perspective on the virtue of chastity in a secular age. The contributors provide insightful positions on the strengths and weaknesses of chastity while elucidating its role as a guiding virtue for sexual activity. —Audra Goodnight, Villanova University, USA Sexual Ethics in a Secular Age This collection features essays from top experts in ethics and philosophy of love that offer varying perspectives on the value of a contemporary secular virtue of chastity. The virtue of chastity has traditionally been portrayed as an excellent personal disposition concerning the ideal ordering of sexual desire such that the person desires that which is actually good for both the self and others affected by his or her sexual desires and actions. Yet, for roughly the past half century chastity has been increasingly portrayed as an un- necessary ideal with few secular benefts that could not be otherwise obtained. Instead, chastity is sometimes portrayed as an odd kind of religious asceticism with few secular benefts. The essays in this volume ask whether there may be advantages to reconsidering a contemporary virtue of chastity. A recovered and reconceptualized concept of chastity can offer partial solutions to problems associated with externalized sex- ual desire, including sweeping patterns of sexual harassment, the high divorce/relationship-failure rate, and widespread pornography use. Sexual Ethics in a Secular Age will appeal to researchers and advanced students interested in the philosophy of sex and love, virtue ethics, and philosophical accounts of secularity. Eric J. Silverman is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Christopher Newport University. He has written two monographs: The Supremacy of Love: An Agape Centered Vision of Aristotelian Virtue Ethics (2019) and The Prudence of Love: How Possessing the Virtue of Love Benefts the Agent (2010). He has also co-edited Paradise Understood: New Phil- osophical Essays about Heaven (2017). Routledge Research in Applied Ethics The Future of Work, Technology, and Basic Income Edited by Michael Chobli and Michael Weber The Ethics of Eating Animals Usually Bad, Sometimes Wrong, Often Permissible Bob Fischer Self-Defense, Necessity, and Punishment A Philosophical Analysis Uwe Steinhoff Ethics and Error in Medicine Edited by Fritz Allhoff and Sandra L. Borden Care Ethics and the Refugee Crisis Emotions, Contestations, and Agency Marcia Morgan Corporate Responsibility and Political Philosophy Exploring the Social Liberal Corporation Kristian Høyer Toft The Ethics of War and the Force of Law A Modern Just War Theory Uwe Steinhoff Sexual Ethics in a Secular Age Is There Still a Virtue of Chastity? Edited by Eric J. Silverman For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge. com/Routledge-Research-in-Applied-Ethics/book-series/RRAES Sexual Ethics in a Secular Age Is There Still a Virtue of Chastity? Edited by Eric J. Silverman First published 2021 by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 Eric J. Silverman The right of Eric J. Silverman to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been requested ISBN: 978-0-367-52267-4 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-52277-3 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-05730-7 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by codeMantra To all who have taught us to love reason more than pleasure: Aristotle, Diotima, the Stoics, Confucius, and the rest Contents Preface xi Acknowledgements xix PART I Visions of Contemporary Chastity 1 1 Chastity and the Well-Lived Life 3 JENNIFER A. HERDT 2 Sexuality as Secularly Sacred 19 ALEXANDER R. PRUSS 3 Contemporary Chastity Still Consists in Principles of Temperance, Justice, and Prudence 37 ERIC J. SILVERMAN 4 Chastity, Lust, and Practical Wisdom 51 MICHAEL BEATY PART II The Limits and Dangers of Chastity 65 5 Is Chastity a Virtue? 67 ALAN H. GOLDMAN 6 Chastity, Power Dynamics, and Enduring Spousal Love 78 R. MARY HAYDEN LEMMONS
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