Role in Discussion of Human Sexuality
Information about animal sexuality frequently arises as a persuasive device in arguments regarding human sexuality. Originally, the lack of documented animal sexual behaviour other than heterosexual sexual monogamy was used to argue that the dominant heterosexual monogamy of most modern human societies is more natural and acceptable. Likewise, the lack of documented sex between animals for the purpose of pleasure was used to promote the moral standard of reserving sex primarily for procreation. Proponents of alternate sexuality attribute this early lack of documented evidence to an observer bias in researchers, who, they argue, tended to interpret sexual behaviour inconsistent with their values as other behaviour.
With increasing published evidence of different types of sexual behaviour between animals, arguments for heterosexual monogamy in human society have moved towards characterizing these behaviours as resulting from differences between humans and animals, and in particular on ambiguity in motivation and subjective experience in animals, which is difficult to study. Arguments identifying human and animal behaviour are characterized as anthropomorphism, and in some cases an opposite observer bias is attributed to researchers. Supporters of alternate sexuality embrace the new research as confirmation of the naturalness of alternate sexual behaviour and evidence of its long-term feasibility and utility.
In both cases, any argument which conclusion is that something is good or right because it is natural, or that something is bad or wrong because it is unnatural or artificial is known as the appeal to nature fallacy.
Read more about this topic: Animal Sexual Behaviour
Famous quotes containing the words role in, role, discussion and/or human:
“Language makes it possible for a child to incorporate his parents’ verbal prohibitions, to make them part of himself....We don’t speak of a conscience yet in the child who is just acquiring language, but we can see very clearly how language plays an indispensable role in the formation of conscience. In fact, the moral achievement of man, the whole complex of factors that go into the organization of conscience is very largely based upon language.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)
“The traditional American husband and father had the responsibilities—and the privileges—of playing the role of primary provider. Sharing that role is not easy. To yield exclusive access to the role is to surrender some of the potential for fulfilling the hero fantasy—a fantasy that appeals to us all. The loss is far from trivial.”
—Faye J. Crosby (20th century)
“Americans, unhappily, have the most remarkable ability to alchemize all bitter truths into an innocuous but piquant confection and to transform their moral contradictions, or public discussion of such contradictions, into a proud decoration, such as are given for heroism on the battle field.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)
“The rest, called literature, is a dossier of human imbecility for the guidance of future professors.”
—Tristan Tzara (1896–1963)