J
JDScotus
Guest
This thread raises a very interesting question. Thank you for asking it. What is the relation between the morality of mastication and masturbation?
Both (let us suppose) seem to involve the use of an organ for the sake of pleasure and not for the sake of its natural end.
The natural end of a reproductive organ is reproduction (and unity). Masturbation does not involve either of those ends and so is wrong. One might think that the natural end of chewing with the mouth is digestion. This would make chewing gum wrong by the same line of reasoning as masturbation. But chewing gum does not seem wrong. It certainly does not seem as important as our sexuality. Is there a way to preserve the reasoning used to prohibit masturbation without being committed to prohibiting mastication?
Consider this response. The natural end of the stomach is digestion. But the mouth does not have this end. For example, the mouth can praiseworthily be used for kissing, exploring (e.g. discerning edibility), or tasting. Taste is one of our external senses by which we take in the world. And perhaps this analogy works, just as we need not dwell on every image we see or sound we hear, we need not swallow everything we taste. Just as we are not required to make use of every experience we have, so, we are not requires to eat everything we taste. Chewing gum is tasting a thing that we do not eat. So, chewing gum is not always wrong.
This line of reasoning cannot be used to support masturbation. So, masturbation and mastication are morally disanalogous.
Both (let us suppose) seem to involve the use of an organ for the sake of pleasure and not for the sake of its natural end.
The natural end of a reproductive organ is reproduction (and unity). Masturbation does not involve either of those ends and so is wrong. One might think that the natural end of chewing with the mouth is digestion. This would make chewing gum wrong by the same line of reasoning as masturbation. But chewing gum does not seem wrong. It certainly does not seem as important as our sexuality. Is there a way to preserve the reasoning used to prohibit masturbation without being committed to prohibiting mastication?
Consider this response. The natural end of the stomach is digestion. But the mouth does not have this end. For example, the mouth can praiseworthily be used for kissing, exploring (e.g. discerning edibility), or tasting. Taste is one of our external senses by which we take in the world. And perhaps this analogy works, just as we need not dwell on every image we see or sound we hear, we need not swallow everything we taste. Just as we are not required to make use of every experience we have, so, we are not requires to eat everything we taste. Chewing gum is tasting a thing that we do not eat. So, chewing gum is not always wrong.
This line of reasoning cannot be used to support masturbation. So, masturbation and mastication are morally disanalogous.
