Thomas Mappes Using Another Person Summary

Critical Commentary on “Sexual Morality and the Concept of Using another Person” Thomas Mappes begins his essay “Sexual Morality and the Concept of Using another Person” with the notion that nonmarital sex is not immoral and sex without love is not immoral. Rather, he believes that it is immoral to use a human being as a mere means to an end. However, he does hold that use can be okay when there is voluntary exchange and respect. He creates a sexual ethic based on Kantian principle, by appealing to the idea that when human beings interact with one another, one human should never treat another individual in a way that violates their informed consent or treat them solely as a means to their own end. In his paper, Mappes explains that people …show more content…
Sexual morality can fail in a second situation where the autonomy is undercut from a person. Mappes lays out two ways in which this can happen, through deception and through coercion. Deception, not only includes lying or misrepresentation, but withholding information from a person. For example, if an individual discloses information that they have a sexually transmitted disease, for fear that the person they will have sexual interactions with would not give their voluntary informed consent. On the subject of coercion, Mappes notes that rape is one of the most vivid examples of the immoral using of another person. I could not agree more with Mappes in his beliefs that using another person by means of deception and coercion is immoral. His theory sheds light on common dilemmas in sexual matters. Mappes belief on sexual morality is significant in the bounds that it identifies the central importance of showing respect for the dignity of our sexual partners and the key significance of consent in morally legitimate sexual interactions. However, his approach is far too permissive, approving of any consensual sexual