Homosexuality, Again

The widely agreed upon data, admitted both by the Left and Right:  

1)  Sexual activity is extremely important and has deep moral significance (which is one of the reasons rape is so bad)

2)  Sexual activity is a unique and unparalleled form of relationship between humans

3)  Sexual activity has extremely strong normative protections (the standard of consent is extremely high, for instance)

We need an account of sexual activity that both explains the goal of the activity and respects the agreed upon data.

There are three plausible accounts of sexual activity:

A. Pleasure

B. Psychological closeness

C. One-body union striving towards reproduction

Note that if (A) and (B) are correct, then homosexual behavior is permissible, for gay couples can get pleasure and psychological closeness from their sexual activity.

But (A) and (B) both fail to explain the data.  Pleasure fails as an account of sex as it can be achieved in a variety of non-sexual ways, so it undermines the uniqueness of sex.  Given the possibility of "empty pleasures," it seems that pleasure is only of deep moral significance when it is reflective of a more fundamental good.  So pleasure also fails to explain the deep moral significance of sex.

(B) also fails as an account of sex, for we can be psychologically close to multiple people. And, it seems permissible (rarely) to coerce others into psychological closeness - for instance, a court order requiring a person to get psychological treatment.  Yet it is never permissible to force someone into a sexual relationship.  Psychological closeness is also achievable by a number of different activities, so does not account for the unique and unparalleled character of sexual activity.  So (B) fails to explain the exclusivity of sex, it’s normative prohibitions against coercion, and its uniqueness.  

What about (C)?  It holds that the significance of sexual activity is that it unites people into a one-flesh union, wherein the bodies of both people mutually strive towards the common goal of reproduction.  There is no other behavior or activity of humans that is like this, so it preserves the uniqueness of sexual activity.  (C) also focuses our vision on the reproductive striving of sexuality.  An activity that has the coming into existence of a person among its natural goals cannot be anything but sacred.  This account thus preserves the deep moral significance of sex.  Given this deep moral significance and uniqueness to sexual activity on (C), it’s easy to see the normative protections around sexual activity as justified.  And thus giving an account of sex as one-body union striving towards reproduction preserves the data extremely well.

And with this account of sexual activity in place, we can see that sexual activity between members of the same sex gives rise to an experience of a union as one body without the actual reality of it.  It is thus an emotional self-deception. And self-deception in a matter as important as erotic love is morally wrong.  

(Much of this is taken from Alexander Pruss, but the presentation is mostly my own.)