ETA: Very well said but I wouldn't be able to let it go that she's drawing a correlation between porn and violence where none exisits... from the wikipedia article on porn:
Effect on sex crimes
It has been theorized that there may be a link between pornography, particularly violent pornography, and an increase in sex crime.[citation needed] There have been many studies done to validate or disprove this hypothesis. The results have greatly varied from study to study, which leads many to believe that there is no consistent relationship between the two, while others may believe that the research methodology used does not yield accurate results.[citation needed]
What has been seemingly overlooked is the lower per capita crime rate and historically high availability of pornography in many developed European countries (e.g. Netherlands, Sweden) leading a growing majority conclude that there is an inverse relationship between the two, such that an increased availability of pornography in a society equates to a decrease in sexual crime. [12] Indeed since the widespread adoption of the Internet as an unfettered method to distribute adult material, the United States crime rate nation-wide has consistently and steadily dropped by almost 50% from 1993.[13]
I changed my response to this:
I have been struggling with a proper way to respond to this post. Obviously, these are your morals speaking. Your values. You think that making, viewing, and distributing pornography is a sin and that it leads to abuse and violence. And I appreciate you stating them. However, I think that one thing we run the risk of in showing our morals for all to see is that we take the chance of offending someone.
I, for one, am very morally offended by this post. My morals state that while I, personally, might find some behaviors immoral and repugnant, I don't judge other people for them. I don't know anyone in this class well enough to say that they are sinners or lack reverence or respect for humans because they make, view, or distribute pornography.
Pornography is one of the largest industries in this country. I saw a report on how if pornography was completely eliminated, it would affect our domestic economy in such a way, that we would almost certainly throw us back into an economic depression. That's a lot of people affected. I have a hard time believing that every single one of those people is morally bad. Most of them are just making a living, trying to support their families and get by day-to-day.
While our personal morals do affect our critical thinking, in order to be better critical thinkers, we can not allow them to influence us 100%. Otherwise, what's the point of thinking critically at all?
I like your response, Aimee, especially the part that brings out the importance of being nonjudgemental. I think it's likely that many people with your teacher's opinion would be surprised that others would be offended by that opinion, even if they disagreed.
I guess I think that morals influence our thinking, but not so much the critical part. I think that the important part is to use the moral and critical thinking together, especially with people whose moral and ethical frameworks may vary.
I guess I think that morals influence our thinking, but not so much the critical part
Morals don't so much affect our thinking, they affect our behavior. Critical thinking is what leads us to develop our personal moral structure. From what Aimee's prof says, someone else did her critical thinking for her (God) and, therfore, she's imposing "her" morals on everyone else because obviously she's a better critical thinker than her students are. She's putting the cart before the horse and it don't work that way. Bleargh.
From what Aimee's prof says, someone else did her critical thinking for her (God)
Yes. And if she wants to do this on her own, fine. But if she feels that personal critical thinking is thus unnecessary, it's kind of odd for her to teach such a class.
Aimee, have your prof give Carly Milne a call, please.
Totally off topic...
Boy, those Rockettes sure can kick!
While our personal morals do affect our critical thinking, in order to be better critical thinkers, we can not allow them to influence us 100%. Otherwise, what's the point of thinking critically at all?
It seems to me that the critical thinking that hasn't been exercised by Aimee's teacher is as follows:
How does she define "porn"? And I don't mean the legal criteria for defining whether or not something is "obscene" -- I mean for the teacher herself, how does she define "porn"?
Everything flows from that.
I would agree that kiddie porn and snuff porn does, in fact, convey zero respect for human life.
However, there is lots of "porn" out there (and what I, personally, mean by that is "adult entertainment whose main focus is on sexuality and sexual activity") that, frankly, shows MOUNTAINS of respect for human life. And I mean that. There's lots of porn out there that shows 2 people having fun with each other and making each other happy, and I cannot fathom how that could be construed as "disrespectful" of humanity.
Your teacher is showing the exact opposite of critical thinking with her broad-based shallow condemnation. You have to define your terms before you can even attempt to make the kind of statement she did (if you want your statement to be taken seriously, that is).
Where did you go to see them, vw? I think of them as a New York standard. Do they have a travelling show?
