(August 12, 2012 at 9:09 am)Tiberius Wrote: Is rape natural? As opposed to what? Supernatural? Unnatural? Artificial? What exactly are "unnatural" things anyway? Humans can't fly on their own, but we can if we use other (natural) materials to form wings. Is that natural?
I'd argue that everything is natural, but natural things are viewed (by society) as good or evil. Rape is viewed by most as evil. So is psychopathy, sociopathy, etc. I think most people use the word "unnatural" as a placeholder for "evil", since they operate under the assumption that most people are "good", and therefore being "good" is a natural state. For a moral relativist such as myself, that argument is baseless. There is no "good" and "evil", and there is no "unnatural". The word "natural" is superfluous; it applies to everything that exists.
I use "natural" in the moral sense, yeah. I base "good" and "bad" based on a measure of what harm or benefit is or is not brought, and by what level of willingness. Not saying it's a simple matter; it isn't. But yes. I am, in this regard, referring to rape as morally unnatural. Others have their own definition of it, I'm finding.
Which honestly doesn't surprise me. Lots of ways to interpret something.