Abstract
AbstractIn this paper, I will try to examine the main objections and moral qualms by some opponents to sexbots. While minor points of their argumentation are not entirely groundless, my aim is to show that overall, most of the claims directed against sexbots are: (1) rarely based on facts or data; (2) driven by unfounded fears; and originate from; (3) implicit to very strong political and ideological beliefs.The driving moral forces behind the opponents’ position are not traditional moral categories such as good or bad per se, but they are rather subsumed or dissolved under very vague and fashionable concepts such as gender and objectification. Hence, morality in this case can be seen as highly subservient to a political cause: it views some aspects of technological progress as an offshoot of all-mighty capitalism; and sexbots in particular, as a threat to social order, that will redefine or even wipe out traditional interactions between human beings and ultimately, destroy humanity.I will argue on the contrary that there is a strong moral case for sexbots, that stems from notions such as sexual liberty, personal freedom and humanism, and extends to novel concepts, like sexual equality or sexual opportunity, sexual justice and compassion.Moreover, I am fairly convinced that sexbots, widely available and used in a responsible manner, might have a positive impact on society as a whole. The sexual well-being and fulfilment of individuals in want of intimacy and emotional connection, could be seen as a tool for social progress and sexual justice.As Socrates brilliantly pointed out through Plato, most of human misery, suffering and wars, arise from our unfulfilled bodily desires and frustrations (“Phaedo”, 66c). He of course advocated in favour of chastity and resisting sexual temptation, but his basic premise and insight are still valid today.Finally, the underlying questions I will explore in the following pages are: how come such vast swaths of the progressive camp, adopt a conservative discourse, when it comes to sexual progress? Why is there such a staunch opposition to sexbots and the ensuing right to pleasure, while at the same time, we are precisely witnessing in the most recent decades, an inflation in all kinds of subjective rights, that we tend to value so much?
Highlights
A boner of contentionIn 1934, the German surrealist painter Hans Bellmer, influenced among other things by the theories of Karl Marx, began producing a series of artworks entitled “Die Puppe”1 (“The Doll”), in protest against the rise of National-Socialism in his country [1]
Sexbots are perceived by some radical feminists as a product of a masculine exclusivist world, which extends its testosterone-charged tentacles to dominate culture, science and technology. They are after all dolls designed by men, destined to satisfy men’s ruthless sexuality, and they reproduce unjust social patterns which are collectively hurtful to women, as it is the case in negative objectification
Gender theory might sound coherent on paper and full of good intentions, but it is highly disputable and, like any theory, comprises some methodological shortcomings: it is generally based on vague or flimsy facts; and it relies heavily on the challenges faced by sexual minorities, considered as a universal template applicable to the general population
Summary
In 1934, the German surrealist painter Hans Bellmer, influenced among other things by the theories of Karl Marx, began producing a series of artworks entitled “Die Puppe” (“The Doll”), in protest against the rise of National-Socialism in his country [1] He deemed the depiction of hypersexualized pubescent female dolls, displayed in very enticing positions and with dismembered limbs, as a political statement [2]. Because under the guise of engineering marvel, these human simulacrums are perceived as the ultimate embodiment of the inhuman, dark, sad, lonely, frightening and immoral side of society and human relations All of these scathing and gloomy assertions that I have tried to outline above, are widely enunciated and propagated in the current debate about sexbots. Afterwards, I will lay out the main arguments that in my mind, make sexbots moral, or at least, do not make them immoral (Section 3)
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