# Pedophilia, an ethical inquiry **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedophilia-an-ethical-inquiry/239814 "2004-04-13T16:58:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedophilia-an-ethical-inquiry/239814/21 "2011-11-15T03:17:02Z")
The thread title would be a great title for an academic textbook. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedophilia-an-ethical-inquiry/239814/22 "2011-11-15T03:18:21Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Do you believe he is evil? Untrustworthy? No. Arguably. > [@](#): > > 1. Do you believe there must be something psycologically wrong with him Yes. Pedophilia is a pathology and not just because it is abnormal but because it is harmful if acted upon. > [@](#): > > 1. Would you trust him around your children? Absolutely not. It doesn’t even mean that I think he/she is a bad person, but I only have his/her word on how good their impulse control is and I wouldn’t put a kid I care about in that kind of risk. To use rhetoric often employed with gays, I certainly don’t think anybody would choose to be a pedophile. However, if they are I think it is incumbent upon them to 1- Seek professional help 2- Not put themselves in a position where they’re around children 3- If they still have very strong urges, they should take medications that dull their sex drive It may sound cruel for something they can’t help, but unfair as it may be it’s ultimately their problem and not other people’s. Does anybody know if there is effective counseling for pedophiles? Or if it’s more apt to be caused by ‘nature’ or ‘nurture’? (I know that many adults who sexually abuse children were sexually abused themselves, but I don’t know if there are any statistics on the matter.) ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedophilia-an-ethical-inquiry/239814/23 "2011-11-15T03:20:28Z")
And I, as a hetero man, can say that not every woman is equally sexually attractive. Some are, and some tend toward the “sister”, “mother”, or “granny” spectrum. I would only ever want to go to bed with a woman in a socially acceptable and fully consensual manner. I believe that doing it otherwise cheapens the effect. That doesn’t, however, remove all temptations. What it does say is that what we DO is what affects our standing in the community. Are you a guy that has wondered what it would be like to take the receptionist to bed? Congratulations, you’re normal. Are you a guy who is scheming and planning to get her into a weak point where she has no choice but to “submit”? You need help. Read some stories of Christian saints sometime. Those people apparently went through some serious sexual issues but came out ok. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedophilia-an-ethical-inquiry/239814/24 "2011-11-15T03:28:36Z")
Noting that this is a zombie from 2004, resurrected by a just-registered poster who posted only once. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedophilia-an-ethical-inquiry/239814/25 "2011-11-15T04:39:31Z")
**[Mod Hat]** Closing this. - Gukumatz, IMHO Moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedophilia-an-ethical-inquiry/239814.md?page=1)