同性婚姻、性少数权益与“道德滑坡”论 (Same-Sex Marriage, Sexual Minority Rights and the 'Moral Slippery Slope' Argument)

Abstract

Chinese Abstract: 在性少数权益的支持者所遭遇的种种诘难中，最常见的是“道德滑坡”论。对道德滑坡论的辨析，不仅仅是为了更有效地回应性少数权益反对者的质疑，也有助于澄清“性少数”及“性少数权益”这些概念本身的涵义。本文以同性婚姻合法化为例，从正反两个方面反驳道德滑坡论者。正面的办法是：论证同性婚姻和所有在道德上不可接受的性模式之间均存在关键区别，从而直接拒斥类比、阻断滑坡。反面的办法是：将举证责任转移到反同人士头上，首先要求其给出上述前提中的类比所依赖的原则，而后“以彼之道还施彼身”，通过构建相反方向的滑坡，论证这些原则将使反同人士自身陷入道德困境。最后结果表明，反同人士试图在同性亲密关系与某些道德上不可接受的性模式之间建立滑坡、从而在道德上拒绝前者的努力是失败的。

English Abstract: The argument from "moral slippery slope" is the most common type of objections to sexual minority rights. A thorough analysis of the moral slippery slope argument would not only rebut those objections but also help us explicate the very notions of "sexual minorities" and "sexual minority rights". Taking same-sex marriage as an example, this paper illustrates the two general strategies of rebutting the moral slippery slope argument and defending sexual minority rights. The "defensive strategy" is to highlight the crucial differences between certain morally acceptable patters of sexual interaction, including same-sex marriage, and certain morally unacceptable ones, so as to block the moral slippery slope against the former. The "counteroffensive strategy" is to shift the burden of proof, subjecting those who oppose same-sex marriage to various "moral slippery slopes" of their own, and forcing them to acknowledge the lack of morally justifiable objections to same-sex marriage and to adequately defined sexual minority rights in general.

Note: Downloadable document is in Chinese.