Oops

[frayadjacent]

I tried to argue to my coworkers at lunch today that one need not invoke a genetic cause of "homosexuality" (their word) in order for it to be morally OK. It's also morally fine if it is a choice! I'm pretty sure they think I'm a homophobe now.

(I suppose this would have been as good a time as any to come out at work, but given that I'm still somewhat dazed at having participated in a multi-minute conversation with my coworkers at all, it's not surprising I didn't.)

Comments

[luzula]

That's a weird argument to me, because something being genetically based has nothing to do with morality. I mean, if there were a genetically based tendency to be violent, or greedy, or whatever, that wouldn't make it okay.

Of course, one could go all meta and say that our sense of morality is partly shaped by our genetic make-up, so that morality and genetics do have something to do with each other. But I'd say it's still true that we have behaviors that are partly genetically determined that we morally disapprove of.

(Just so nobody misunderstands: I think gayness is just fine whether inborn or chosen.)

So your co-workers are not very talkative?

[frayadjacent]

I mean, if there were a genetically based tendency to be violent, or greedy, or whatever, that wouldn't make it okay.

Totally!