Episode Details

This lecture discusses key ideas from the Utilitarian philosopher, Jeremy Bentham's work, Offenses Against Oneself, a posthumously published part of his Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Here we examine the range of other perceived sexual offenses Bentham discusses and evaluates, all of which involve the feature "that they consist in procuring certain sensations by means of an improper object." Bentham considers five types: "1. Of the proper species but at an improper time: for instance, after death. 2. Of an object of the proper species and sex, and at a proper time, but in an improper part. 3. Of an object of the proper species but the wrong sex. 4. Of a wrong species. 5. In procuring this sensation by one's self without the help of any other sensitive object." Of all of these, oddly enough but consistent with some of the medical opinions of his time, he considers the last one, i.e. masturbation, to be the most pernicious. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 1500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Purchase Bentham's Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation -amzn.to/2Z470Bq