Prostitution

Tuesday, May 17, 2005
First Aired: 
Monday, June 20, 2005

What Is It

Is prostitution morally objectionable?   Should it be illegal?   Or is it simply a market transaction, where one party sells a service for a price that another party is willing to pay, and no third party is harmed?   Philosophy Talk favorite Debra Satz joins John and Ken.

Listening Notes

Is prostitution immoral? Is sex the kind of thing that is permissible to sell? John distinguishes between intrinsic and instrumental wrongness. Ken introduces the guest, Debra Satz, professor at Stanford University. John asks if prostitution is one set of issues and practices. Satz says that it covers a wide variety of institutions. She points out that prostitution doesn't always involve degradation of women as some forms don't even involve women. 

Ken asks how much of prostitution consists of girls like in Amy Standen's piece. Satz answers that, internationally, it is a very small percentage. Is selling sex intrinsically wrong? Satz answers this by saying that a lot of people consider prostitution to be morally more like slavery than apples. Ken argues that sex is supposed to play a certain role in your life and putting a market value on it debases it. Is there a feminist position on prostitution? Satz quickly covers a couple of prominent ones. Why do prostitutes service primarily men? Are marriage and prostitution similar when there is a large economic disparity between the man and the woman? Satz says there are similarities, but there are differences. Satz reminds listeners that we need to distinguish the legal status of prostitution from its moral status. 

How does prostitution in countries where it is legal compare to where it is illegal? Legalization doesn't make the moral problems go away. Legalization doesn't make all of the inequalities between the sexes go away. Satz notes that countries that allow prostitution tend to have more gender equality than those that don't. A caller comments that the stigmatization of prostitution varies across cultures. 
 

Transcript

Comments (10)


maryrosesoler's picture

maryrosesoler

Thursday, August 15, 2024 -- 1:38 AM

Are marriage and prostitution

Are marriage and prostitution similar when there is a large economic disparity between the man and the woman? Satz says there are similarities, but there are differences.
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victoriaabrams

Tuesday, August 27, 2024 -- 2:53 AM

What are some specific

What are some specific feminist arguments for and against prostitution? How do different cultures approach the legal status of prostitution? Can you elaborate on the similarities between geometry dash lite, marriage and prostitution?

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barrelcourse's picture

barrelcourse

Tuesday, December 10, 2024 -- 8:13 PM

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adammaurer's picture

adammaurer

Friday, January 10, 2025 -- 6:47 AM

When there is a significant

When there is a significant economic gap between the man and the woman, are marriage and prostitution comparable? post and rail fence

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DimaRosins's picture

DimaRosins

Wednesday, January 22, 2025 -- 6:03 AM

A friend recently told me how

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TacticalTackle

Saturday, January 25, 2025 -- 2:22 PM

there is a lot of thick

there is a lot of thick things you said in this article and question you propose, whether intentionaly or not. there is a huge difference between 'legal' and 'lawful'. legality lies in the post civil war 'democracy' where all crimes are converted into 'commercial crimes' and there are no actual crimes anymore outside of that. the 'dollar' unbacked by gold, gives a third party intervener access to your personal effects and body and choices, and children and all kinds of things these 'contracts' have to do with. which is the whole point of the federal reserve, to limit privacy by making transactions 'public'. marriage licenses did to households what license plates did to automobiles. it made it commercial. so, is it moral for prostitution to take place? i dont know, is it moral to strip people of sovereignty to where they would have to ask permission what they do with their body? are people who are buying sex actually buying sex with worthless dollars? gold and silver are the truly defined moneys. and in turn the only way to actually pay for something. this is why prostitution was more common in the old days because the transactions were private with gold. people doing as they please with what they have or don't. a rise in prostitution back then was people doing what they want, this day in age a rise in prostitution it is always the corporate governments fault because they made money into notes by taking away the real money and hence giving them the power to print and fluxuate the economy. poor people are created by governments. morality, nothing is more immoral than maritime law, or bond law, pirate law, the law of promisory notes. ask yourself, was ceasar moral? he killed morality remember? people are doing whatever they can to keep afloat after being bankrupted over and over and over again. there is nothing immoral about treading water after the ship sinks. Anti conglomerate free market allows you to branch out anyway that you see fit, it is the giant corporations being given rights and the soverign people given priveledges with is the greatest immoral act the world has seen. https://nwctreeservice.com

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nihib's picture

nihib

Saturday, February 1, 2025 -- 12:40 PM

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davidson02

Thursday, February 27, 2025 -- 1:09 PM

I think it depends upon the

I think it depends upon the situation. We must prioritize first if it is still safe.

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adammaurer's picture

adammaurer

Saturday, March 1, 2025 -- 11:45 PM

What is the difference

What is the difference between legal and criminal prostitution in different countries? Regards from Twin Cities Industrial Cleaning team!

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Olive's picture

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Friday, March 14, 2025 -- 10:54 AM

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