PHIL 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Joel Feinberg
Document Summary
Feinberg thinks that the voluntary private consumption of pornography does not cause harm to others. Hence, criminalizing the publication and private voluntary consumption of pornography cannot be justified. Individual liberty is justifiably limited to prevent offensive behavior. In order for porn to be legally defamatory, you"d have to prove that consumers lower their esteem for women in general after viewing porn. In pornography is defamatory, then so are tv commercials, novels, and. In pornography is defamatory, then so are tv commercials, novels, and movies, as they also may lower our esteem of others. If we ban pornography, we"d need to ban all of fiction lest we portray an individual in a bad light. Also, not women as a group portrayed; just an individual or a few at a time. Degrading beliefs already exist in the consumer and they interpret the work as such. What looks like subservience to some is empowerment to others.
