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Prostitution: Our Prerogative

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Prostitution is considered by many historians to be the oldest profession on the planet; traced back before ancient eastern scripture, and has been disputed since it’s inception. The question then arises: is prostitution morally sound? While Kant believed that prostitution was unethical and should be avoided, I contend that the conscious and choice act of prostitution (discounting cases of forced and child harlotry), done voluntarily and of one’s own accord is morally well-founded. Such a legal reform to decriminalize and provide the right of prostitution would respect that which we hold most dear: our autonomy. From time immemorial, human beings have sought escape from the stresses of society, and since then prostitutes have welcomed their business and soothed their nerves. It has spawned a great variety of opinions; from being an honest and blue-collar profession not unlike any other, to a vile and contemptible trade resorted to only by the dregs and undesirables of society. But while opinions exist, it is not yet clear whether prostitution is morally valid and should be legalized.

Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) believed that morality and its requirements were subject to a universal order; something he termed the Categorical Imperative. But to form an indubitable foundation for such a law, he first needed to establish a common moral knowledge, and so Kant determined that “..nothing in the world—indeed nothing even beyond the world—can possibly be conceived which could be called good without qualification except a good will” (Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Elizabeth M. Knowles; pg. 245) . In short, good will is the unconditional good that is desired for itself; an intrinsic good. From this, Kant deduced that good will is solely determined by a higher moral standard and law. Since we govern our behaviour based on our own, unique conceptions of

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