Farley

Homosexuality is a very sensitive subject even today, when our society is gradually accepting different norms for different things. In Professor Farley's presentation she first explained the origins of sexual ethics and how the church views it. Next she talks about different views of same sex relationships. For example, she talks about how the church's tradition cannot supply an absolute blessing of same sex relationships. In her last part of her presentation she explained her own opinions and supposed guidelines of how people should view sexual ethics. She gives out seven norms in which everyone should follow and be held responsible for.

Before she actually begins her seven norms she states two absolute musts. The first is autonomy and second is relationality. Autonomy refers to a person's self governing nature, for example a person is able to make his or her own choices without any interference from anyone else. This is very important because when a person enters a relationship he or she is making their own conscious decision to enter it. The next pre-norm that Professor Farley talks about is relationality. I think that Professor Farley's definition of relationality means that not only should you have a choice of who you want to have a relationship with, but it should work vice versa too. Where the person you are trying to have the relationship with should also have a choice. Both these pre- norms, I feel, are a very good basis for the seven other norms because they present a strong argument against why same sex relationships are wrong. First off every human being has free will and a freedom of choice, that is why humans are autonomous creatures. What Professor Farley is trying to say is that since every human being has this free will and choice, then wouldn't that mean they can make their own choices of who they want to be in a relationship with.

I also mostly agree with her other seven norms: do no unjust harm, free consent, mutuality, equality, commitment, fruitfulness, and social justice. Definitely the first norm, do no unjust harm, I agree with because an abusive relationship is always a bad relationship no matter if it was same sex or not. The second norm, free consent, is also very important because both parties have to agree with one another to be in a loving and caring relationship together or else it just doesn't work. Another example of free consent could be in the case of rape, when a person is being raped that person is not consenting with the other person and in this case makes that relationship at the moment very wrong. Mutuality relates to free consent a little bit because both sides of the relationship have to agree with each other no matter the sex. Equality is also a must in a loving relationship because no one person should use another person as a means to an end. Commitment is a strong word that symbolizes the love