Explanation and Evaluation of the Response
Introduction
Caroline West explains three main types of women silencing in which they get prevented in expressing themselves in a free manner through pornography. She explains that pornography creates social conditions that make most of the women involved in this sexual context face difficulties in speaking and expressing their ideas. West posits that pornography intimidates as well as acts as a threatening factor to the women that face such harm, making them go into complete silence. Moreover, West explains some of the objections to her silencing argument, which explains the extension of the orthodox comprehension of the right to freedom of speech. Based on her case, rights of freedom of expression comprise the rights to conditions that enhance one to freely express ideas as well as the right of the listeners or consumers of the message to respect and grasp the offered information. West, through her objection, explains that every individual that include creationist, a bigot and social reformer possess rights to get for understanding by others though their messages and freely speak his or her mind which occurs as absurd. Furthermore, West’s objection presupposes that any emerging conception concerning the women’s right to freedom of expression, which allows sense claiming that pornography silences women leading to violation of the freedom of expression. Such an argument occurs as unacceptable hence justifying the “imposition of illiberal duties and disabilities” of a person, which could result in what West term as “terrible tyranny.” West argues in her objection that it happens as a mistake to hold the pornography industry responsibility in violation of the women’s right to freedom of expression. Since, consumers use the pornographic product in a deliberate manner, thus any beliefs and arising exist as mentally-intermediated. Equally, another objection to her silencing argument explains that the impacts of pornography could occur as a result of another agent’s activities required by the limited understandings.
Objections
Most of the people reject various claims of the philosophers that pornography consumers occur as free people to choose and agree with pornographic ideas concerning women’s speech. However, if the philosopher’s ideas happen as valid, then, as per Caroline West, “pornography really may forcibly implant its meaning-scrambler in consumers” (West, 2006). Various scholars on this topic posit that pornography never occurs as a persuasive or and mentally-intermediated speech. Furthermore, based on the rejection of her argument, West explains that while communicating the idea of pornography to the consumers, the concepts cannot get evaluated rationally or, in some cases, rejected by the consumers (West, 2006). For instance, pornography rarely involves the conscious mind, but instead, it alters users’ preferences and beliefs. On the same note, pornography users lack persuasion by the contained ideas but based on the reason that they persist as sexually habituate. According to West (2006), the procedures involved in this case comprise unconsciousness as well as the primitive situation in which factors like words and photos acting and the primary sexual stimuli. Similarly, as explained by West, some authors like Cass Sunstein describes pornography as subliminal advertising (West, 2006). In this case, the message conveyed to the consumers in a manner that they do not understand or get aware of ideas communicated. Furthermore, West uses Danny Sccocia’s argument in her objection. Sccocia argues that pornography possesses limited chances of affecting the consumers’ mental state (West, 2006). As a result, liberals hold ideas of supporting the ban on violent pornography based on facts that they protect freedom of speech when consumers’ mental state gets affected.
West Response to the Objection
However, West argues that “even if the claim that pornography is not mentally-intermediated were right, it would not save the silencing argument” (West, 2006). In many cases, consumers find their difficulties in choosing to agree or to disagree with ideas in pornographic materials. Moreover, pornography users possess the option to consume or not to use pornographic content. Equally, the case of “non-mental intermediated” argument would get substantial support if it includes information the consumers about the message passed in various ways such as putting the warning labels on the pornographic contents (West, 2006). West (2006) explains that the principle possesses some drawbacks based on the fact that it offers liberally valid grounds to prohibit pornography. For instance, in a scenario that involves rational adults who wish to stop smoking or losing weight, through presenting themselves to the modern methods in hypnotherapy, the cases lack the mentally-intermediation (West, 2006). Based on this issue, it never exists as better liberal reasons and truth in preventing them from availing themselves to the hypnotherapy based on their decisions. Hindering such informed and rational adults in practicing their freedom of preferences and options persist as positively illiberal. The scenario significantly applies to the case of pornography, as argued by Caroline West.
West further responds to the objection assuming that consumers occur as free agents to consume pornography. Moreover, based on this fact, the fundamental question exists as “whether the right to free speech allows individuals to act in ways which bring it about that they are unable to comprehend other speakers’ ideas.” For example, a pharmaceutical firm finding as to the drug that has the impacts of altering the capabilities of the consumers in a way that they cannot comprehend particular ideas in which involved speakers get averted in the successful expression of those ideas. West (2006) posits that if the company informs the intended consumers of the drugs on its effects, the question remains if they should be allowed to take the pills. According to West (2002), the problem resembles the principles of the liberal quandary, which explains that particular decisions and opinions of a person possess impacts that severely constrain the future self activities in an illiberal manner. Notably, liberalism strands disallow actions such as suicide, which extends to the individual person-stage, although occurring as non-interference (West, 2006). Based on West’s response to the objection, she explains that people hold the liberal duties and responsibilities that persist as non-interference while focusing on the personal future. Such duties extend towards other people involved in various interactions.
West points out that agent exists in the course of a violation of the speakers’ freedom of speech which hinders the comprehension of the message passed in particular conditions to the consumers. As per Wets (2006), pornography consumers possess various social conventions such as women’s words such as “no” mean “yes.” Through such circumstances, individually developed certain beliefs different from their actions while consuming pornographic products. West argues that most people concur with claims that women get silenced by the social convention of “no,” meaning “yes” by denying that this assumption overwhelms the agency requirement (West, 2006). Moreover, such harms and violation of the freedom of speech of the women result from the individual actions unnecessary to blame other related agents involved in the process of pornography consumption. In the scenario of the murder case through stabbing, a single stab possesses minimal chances of killing and individuals (West, 2006). Notably, various stabs conducted by some people would result in murder. Since the single stab can never cause the killing of the victim, should not all of the participants not held responsible for the death? The answer is no. Hence, all individuals should get held accountable for the victim’s death (West, 2006). Such examples directly relate to the cases of pornography in which collective consumers consume the products and developing misleading beliefs concerning the meaning of expressions and messages conveyed by women in a sexual context. In this scenario, the collectivity of the expressions offers the general conclusion and as well as scrambling impacts that subsequently directly or indirectly violate the rights of women on freedom of speech (West, 2006). Therefore, if a person gets awareness about their activities contributes and results in the entire harm, and they continue with such actions, they should be held responsible.
West further responds that certain beliefs among the individuals who consumers pornography that “no” word from women in sexual context never expresses refusal. As a result, the concepts get held by the person or by people leading to substantial population belief. As per West (2006), even a smaller percentage or portion of the people who exist as incapable of comprehending the individual ideas about the violation of the right of freedom of speech of women would get held responsible. West (2006) explains that, based on liberal’s concepts, “voice-scrambler” implanted in a person aiming and hindering them from passing particular message and ideas to the rest of population would result in the violation of individual’s right to freedom of speech despite many other possessing the freedom to communicate the ideas. Furthermore, liberals concentrate on other issues such as communication of ideas and the message conveyed as well as protection of individuals speakers’ rights to communicate ideas despite many people expressing the same ideas in a different scenario and environment (West, 2006). In the case of pornography, protection aims at scrawls and token sounds in content instead of ideas found in the token. As a result, a single consumer of pornography occurs as incapable of understanding the speakers’ symbolic concepts through the agent’s action would result in the violation of idea expression. Based on the above statement, the numbers of consumers who can well understand the ideas never matter in such violations (West, 2006). Equally, applying the concepts of liberalism, a consumer of pornography incapable of comprehending particular ideas, would result in infringement of the rights to free expression of those who communicate these ideas.
The procedures of hindering understanding that contributes to illiberal violations of the individuals’ freedom of speech depend on the idea of West “whether the right to free speech should include the minimal compression” (West, 20026). The idea critically protects the liberals’ point on the degree of speech value, which comprises the communication of thought. Moreover, cases lacking the understanding requirements would fail in message comprehension and further leading to scrambling. Applying the above point on pornography scenario, the protection aims at scrawl and sound made instead of ideas or speech in the sexual context. As per West (2006), based on the silencing argument, West argues that accepting the social conceptions of freedom of expression that would affect personal duties and disabilities would exist as insufficient and illiberal while putting considerations of the rights to freedom of speech. West uses an example of the theory of justice. She elaborates that by not understanding the message of the authors, the consumers would, in many cases, ignore or ridicule their works which infringe the right to freedom of expression (West, 2006). Notably, such conception guarantees the imposition of limited duties op nana individual the lack in the conventional type of notion. In most cases, the understanding requirements, as explained by West, concentrates and targets a particular kind of failure of intellectual capacity.
Caroline West argues that it would appear or sound odd while thinking that the right to freedom of expression imposes duties such as that sort named above. Moreover, extensions experienced with the context of rights to freedom of speech get motivation directly from the central standards and concepts of the liberal justification based on valuing freedom of expression of many women involved in pornography cases. According to West (2006), the rationale explores the rights to talk freely hence producing meaningful messages but not uttering sounds and scrawls in the sexual context. Furthermore, various costs persist in procedures of enforcing the individuals’ duties while protecting the rights in the real world. Base on this fact, Caroline West explains that liberal should minimize their concentration on the consideration of the right to free expression to comprise limited understanding requirements even if the cases involve various actions that could result in the violation of the orator’s right to free speech. In the case of romance novels and films as an example employed by West, should they fail in understanding? Hence ban on such content would not serve as enhancing the right to freedom of expression but the dangerous knowledge of the liberal concepts (West, 2006). However, such legislation could get justified in the pornography industry. For example, the subset of sexually explicit content that directly or indirectly violates the speakers’ right to freedom of expression even in the cases of non-sexually explicit material causes the same harm (West 2006). West believes that if the system formulates laws against pornographic contents subsets without associates cost, it could result in the legislation of all sorts such materials.
Conclusion
To conclude, Caroline West presents three primary types of women silencing through pornography. Moreover, she elaborates on some of the objections of her silencing arguments based on various reasons and explanations. Firstly, West argues in her dissent that the pornography industry plays a minimal responsibility in violation of the women’s right to freedom of expression based on the fact that consumers use pornographic materials voluntarily. Thus any beliefs from individuals occur as mentally-intermediated. Secondly, West argues based on her objection that the impacts of pornography could occur as a result of another agent’s activities required by the limited understandings. Notably, Caroline West responds to the objection making assumptions that consumer occurs as free agents to consume pornography products. On the same note, pornography users hold an option to consume or not to use the pornographic content. Similarly, the rights of freedom to free expression and harm on the women results from the individual actions unnecessary to blame other related agents involved in the process of pornography consumption. West argues that liberals focus on other issues such as communication of ideas and the message conveyed as well as protection speakers’ rights to communicate their minds freely despite other individuals expressing the same words in various locations and situations.
References