Human Dignity

Submitted by: Arda Mitchel Dominic C.

Section: 11STEM13

Submitted to: Sir Jessie Rivera

Prostitution is often described as the oldest profession. Not surprisingly, the ethics of prostitution

have often been debated. In general, most people claim that it is morally unacceptable. Yet, like

all such practices, it continues to thrive-as recent headlines will attest.

However, as a philosopher, what interests me is not the last media frenzy about prostitution, but

the ethics of the practice itself. Rather than take the usual approach of simply asserting it is

immoral, I will consider the various plausible reasons as to why it should be considered immoral

and also argue that, under certain conditions, it can be just as morally acceptable as other forms

of work.

One reason often given as to why prostitution is immoral is that it tends to involve coercion. In

most cases, people do not freely decide to become prostitutes. In some cases, they are driven to

the profession by desperation and a lack of other opportunities for employment. In other cases,

they are forced into prostitution by others. In some cases, people are enslaved and forced to be

prostitutes. For those who are unaware of this fact, slavery (both relating to prostitution and other

forms) is alive and well around the world today.

Such coercion is clearly immoral, especially the sort that involves slavery. I agree with John

Lockes view of the matter. Roughly put, Locke argues that a person who would enslave another

person should be regarded as a potential threat to the life and liberty of all. Hence, it is right and

just to kill slavers. My own addition to this is that the death should be both cruel and unusual,

perhaps involving a wood chipper. As you might imagine, there is little that I hate more than

slavery and slavers. In light of this, prostitution that involves this sort of coercion must be

considered immoral.
However, some people freely and knowingly chose to be prostitutes. In these cases, the coercion

argument obviously fails.

It might be argued that no one would freely chose to be a prostitute and that all people are

coerced into doing so. For example, feminists often refer to the coercive power of the patriarchy

that is so powerful and subtle that women often do not even know they are being coerced. If

these feminists are right, then all (or almost all) prostitution in a patriarchal society would be

immoral.

Of course, if we accept this sort of view, then it would entail that almost all jobs are immoral.

After all, everyone who is not the top of the power and economic hierarchy will be coerced into

working by those above them and by the very nature of capitalism. This view has, of course,

been argued for by communists, anarchists and others. It seems reasonable, but also shows that

certain types of prostitution are just as moral (or immoral) as most other jobs. So, a prostitute

who is no more coerced than a professor is thus morally on par in this regards.

If we accept that such coercion is morally acceptable, which is a common view in capitalism,

then freely chosen prostitution would be morally acceptable on these grounds. This is, of course,

what one would expect from capitalism.

The second main moral concern about prostitution is that it is exploitative. As presented stereo

typically in movies, prostitutes typically work for a pimp or a madam who takes a sizable cut of

their income. This is exploitative because the prostitute is doing the hard work while the

pimp/madam is taking an unfair share of the proceeds.

Of course, almost all other jobs are exploitative in this fashion. Think, for example, of how much

the typical worker gets paid and how much profits the industry in question makes. Profit, as
Marx argues, typically requires that the worker is paid less than the value she adds. Of course,

profit can also be made by exploiting the customer or the supplier of raw materials. But, profit by

its very nature seems to require exploitation-someone has to be getting less than what they

deserve.

Title of the book: Called to follow Christ in True Freedom

Author: Noel P. Miranda

Date published: January, 2012

Yes, so idefine natin ano ba ang ibig sabihin ng dignidad, well para sakin dignidadis yung kung

anong tingin sayo ng ibang tao, so pag sinabing dignity ito yung positive na tingin sayo ng ibang

tao. Kaya sinasabi kong parang nawalan ka ng dignidad kase bumaba yung tingin sayo ng ibang

tao once na naging prostitute ka or nagbenta ka ng katawan, pinapakita mo na ren na yun na

yung pagkatao mo not only your physical body but even your soul.

______________________________

- Sir Nicolas Tolentino

 Declamation Piece: It is Rainig

It is raining

Where would you like to be in the rain?

Where would you like to be?

I like to be on the city street

Where the rain comes driving down

Trying to make things neat

As it washes the houses, roof and wall

The taxis, buses, cars, and all

Thats where Id like to be in the rain

Thats where Id like to be

It is raining

Where would you like to be in the rain?

Where would you like to be?

I like to be on a tall tree top

Where the rain comes dripping, drop, drop, drop, drop

Around on every side

Where it wets the farmers, the barns, the pig

The cows, the chickens, both little and big

Where it batters and beats on a field of grain

And makes the little birds hide from the rain

Thats where Id like to be in the rain

Thats where Id like to be