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jackWho'd have thunk the Transformers movie would raise interesting philosophical etiquette questions? You're probably tired of "So, can we eat sapient alien" questions, so let's have a different one.
Does privacy apply between species? Does it go with intelligence or compatible biology/mores?
I mean, me, I don't like having sex in front of cats or inflatable penguins, because I'm (most of the time) very private. Being naked in the flat is an occasional luxury rather than the norm. So it doesn't apply to me.
But if the aliens don't place any importance on sexual reproduction or pair bonding, and are friends, and don't gossip, does it matter?
You'd naturally think it does. In the Mote in God's Eye (insofar as Larry Niven is an authority on alien contact) the humans have to explain some aspects of privacy.
OTOH, in books where the sapient alien is pet-like, or an artificial intelligence, sometimes people don't care.
What actually would happen? Can we ever know until we *do* find sapient aliens?
Does privacy apply between species? Does it go with intelligence or compatible biology/mores?
I mean, me, I don't like having sex in front of cats or inflatable penguins, because I'm (most of the time) very private. Being naked in the flat is an occasional luxury rather than the norm. So it doesn't apply to me.
But if the aliens don't place any importance on sexual reproduction or pair bonding, and are friends, and don't gossip, does it matter?
You'd naturally think it does. In the Mote in God's Eye (insofar as Larry Niven is an authority on alien contact) the humans have to explain some aspects of privacy.
OTOH, in books where the sapient alien is pet-like, or an artificial intelligence, sometimes people don't care.
What actually would happen? Can we ever know until we *do* find sapient aliens?
Re: Without meaning to barge in with classical references (again)...
Date: 2007-07-31 08:14 pm (UTC)Yes, good point. It doesn't *have* to be private. But I think (assuming some things are private) the question of whether it would apply to aliens is interesting, though obviously that question cross-fertilises with the question of why something is private in the first place.
So, *did* people mind slaves seeing them having sex? Was it normal not to, or to, or personal preference, or we don't know?
In that case, it's because you don't see the slaves or animals as mattering, or at least, not making a difference to them whether you do or not. The question is, is it because they're *lesser* in some way, or because they're *different*?
I'm trying to think of a good analogy. Maybe if good friends A and B are both really good at maths, B watching A puts him off. But if friend C who doesn't care is there, A doesn't mind?
(OK, yes, I compared maths to sex. Drop it :))