PHL 205 - CONTEMPORARY MORAL ISSUES
FIRST MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE
SPRING 2015
PART II.

SAME SEX MARRIAGE: What happened in the now famous "wedding cake" case? What's behind the various "religious freedom" laws being proposed in state legislatures? What do these bills say and what is their purpose? What was the "Hobby Lobby" Supreme Court case and what bearing does it have on these religious freedom laws?

GAY RIGHTS: According to the demographer interviewed in the NPR piece, about what percentage of the population is LGBT? Where does the 10% figure come from? Does "separate of Church and State" prohibit businesses from discriminating against patrons on the basis of the business owner's religious beliefs? Why or why not? What conflicts, if any, emerge from growing awareness of LGBT people and such people being "out of the closet" (public about their identities). What do opinion polls reveal about the majority of Americans' views towards gays and lesbians?

What's behind the general trend toward recognizing and accommodating alternative sexual orientations and relationships instead of treating them as psychological dysfunctions or moral deviance?

SEX AND COMMITMENT: What is promiscuity and why is it stigmatized? What is "shut-shaming"? What does Alan Goldman mean by plain sex? What is Punzo's tennis analogy? What does he or people holding his view say about the guilt and shame associated with casual sex? How do advocates of "plain sex" respond? Do men and women tend to have different attitudes towards promiscuity? If so, what explains this difference?

"Civilization is the process of setting men free from other men." - Ayn Rand. What does this quote mean?

POLYAMORY: What's the legal status of Polygamy in the U.S.? What has been its historic practice? Is it practiced by many people today? Define: Polyamory, monogamish, polyfidelity, solo poly, relationship anarchy. How do people who practice polyamory conceive of and deal with jealousy? What are some of the benefits of the poly lifestyle? How do poly advocates argue for it in terms of meeting needs one's own needs and the responsibilities of meeting the needs of one's partner? What do they say about whether poly is natural? What are some pros and cons of solo poly? What is compersion?

What are three types of relationships between people who are attracted to one another discussed in class? What is the relationship escalator?