Sober Philosophy: Consent (Karin presents)

Consent
/kənˈsent/

noun
noun: consent; plural noun: consents

1. permission for something to happen or agreement to do something.

"no change may be made without the consent of all the partners"
verb
verb: consent; 3rd person present: consents; past tense: consented; past participle: consented; gerund or present participle: consenting

1. give permission for something to happen.

This topic came to me from a silly movie called “Uglies” in which the government required all 16 year olds to undergo a surgery to make them beautiful. But the surgery didn’t just make them beautiful, it changed their personality to one that would not question authority and would only want to party. This movie is about the fight to combat this. One of the resisters was forcibly made to go through with the surgery. When they found a cure, the post-surgery resister didn’t want to take the cure. The resister BEFORE the surgery would have given consent, had fought for it. Which version of consent is valid? What would you want if you were in that situation?
The movie had a “no-duh” response to it. They had fought so that people could make their own decisions. She didn’t want the cure in her altered state, so she didn’t get the cure. Now if I was the resister and the surgery was forced on me, I’d want my comrades to give me the cure. But that’s me….
Another example of this: Someone is kidnapped and forced into a heroin addiction. They are rescued but when it’s time to go to rehab, they say they don’t want to go. Are they of sound enough mind to make that decision? Or because it was forced on them, do we put them into rehab?
And…if you do give the cure or put them into rehab, how do you know you’re doing the right thing? There are people who send their kids to special camps when they come out as gay or join a perceived cult. How do we know what the right thing to do is?
Questions to ponder:

• What does consent mean to you?
• How specific should consent be? (I.E. do I have to ask for consent for every action during the making of love? May I put my hand here? Steven told me about something Sweden did: https://swedishgenderequalityagency.se/gender-equality-in-sweden/sweden-s-consent-law/ )
• What is necessary to be true for a person to be able to be said that they can give consent? (ie Age, mental status, etc)
• Is there ever a time when consent should not be needed? (I.E. to save a life)
• Can consent go too far?
• What can go wrong with consent?

Symptom-free people with the capacity to listen considerately to diverse viewpoints are invited to attend after successfully RSVPing.

We begin the discussion at 1:00 pm sharp in the mezzanine above the lobby of the Graduate Hotel. Feel free to come up to 30 minutes early and hang out with us beforehand.

From the front Hotel entrance go to the right around the corner to enter through the north valet entrance. If the valet questions you just say you're here for the philosophy group. Go straight to the main lobby and turn right behind the large bookshelves before the elevators. Go up the stairs to your left and through the first door you encounter to enter our meeting room.

OPENING ROUNDTABLE FORMAT (ORF):

1. The topic presenter begins the discussion by explaining why they are interested in the topic and some introductory thoughts on it.
2. Each participant in turn going clockwise from the presenter describes their general thoughts on the topic.
3. If one is not ready to speak they can just say “pass” and the next person speaks.
4. After we've gone around once anyone who passed will get a second chance to comment.
5. Once everyone has given opening remarks or passed twice, Opening Roundtable is completed and the meeting shifts into its main format.

TIMED DIRECTION FORMAT (TDRF>5):
If there are more than 5 people present we will use the format below.

1. We will divide up the timed direction discussion time by the number of participants plus one (for a buffer). A timer will be set for this amount of time.
2. Each participant in turn will become a Discussion Director and lead the group discussion.
3. If one is not ready to direct they dimply say “pass” and the next person becomes the Discussion Director.
4. Anyone who arrives after step 1 (above), may participate but will not get a turn as Discussion Director.
5. The Discussion Director can make statements or ask questions, or interrupt or redirect the discussion at their discretion.
6. The discussion participants can state their own opinions only when asked by the Discussion Director, not Interrupt others and accede to the Discussion Director’s interruptions or redirections.
7. When the timer goes off the person speaking finishes their thought and then the next participant clockwise becomes the next Discussion Director.
8. After we've gone around once anyone who passed will get a second chance to direct.

At the end of the meeting, participants will have an opportunity to vote on the topic and format for the following meeting.