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Chapter 16 - A Character-Based Perspective on Sexual Ethics and Sex Education

from Part III - Responses to Contemporary Moral Problems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2023

By
Kirsten Welch
Edited by
Douglas W. Yacek ,
Mark E. Jonas  and
Kevin H. Gary
Douglas W. Yacek
Affiliation:
Universität Dortmund
Mark E. Jonas
Affiliation:
Wheaton College, Illinois
Kevin H. Gary
Affiliation:
Valparaiso University, Indiana
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Summary

In this chapter, I suggest that sexual ethics as it is present in much sex education fails to address some common and formative aspects of many people’s sexual lives. I argue that the foundation of sexual ethics, as part of the ethical life more broadly, is best captured by the metaphor of vision. Any sexual ethics that treats isolated moments of sexual action as the focus of what it means to be sexually moral is insufficient because it ignores the influence that the way people see the world can have on their sexuality (and vice versa). Moral vision is shaped by character, and the way people engage their sexuality is a formative arena for character. So, sex education must address issues of character, and, conversely, attempts at character education must address the power sexuality possesses in the formation of persons.

Keywords

sexual ethicssex educationcharacter educationmoral visionvirtueIris MurdochAmerican Beauty
Type
Chapter
Information
Moral Education in the 21st Century , pp. 306 - 325
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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