A philosophy professor at the Fredonia campus of the State University of New York is under fire for saying it can’t be known if sex between an adult and a minor is wrong and that there may be evolutionary advantages for engaging in such behavior.
Videos of comments by Stephen Kershnar went viral on Tuesday after they were shared by the popular Twitter account LibsofTikTok. Kershnar’s comments prompted a response from the university, which said it was reviewing the matter.
“I would claim that in evolutionary terms, as best as we can determine, there’s a strong evolutionary case for adult-child sex,” Kershnar said in one of the videos.
Professor Stephen Kershnar continues on and says there is benefits and advantages to adult-child sex pic.twitter.com/yjptqG8tsX
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) February 2, 2022
UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR SAYS SEXUAL ATTRACTION TO MINORS ISN’T IMMORAL
Kershnar has published several books on the philosophy of pedophilia and morality, including Pedophilia and Adult–Child Sex: A Philosophical Analysis in 2017 and Total Collapse: The Case Against Responsibility and Morality in 2018.
In the recently published videos, Kershnar said, “It is not obvious” that a scenario where an adult male had sex with a 12-year-old girl “is in fact wrong” if the child is a willing participant and that treating it as morally wrong is “a mistake.”
??? Professor says an adult wanting to have sex with a kid is accepted as being wrong but “it’s not obvious to me that it is in fact wrong” pic.twitter.com/ygC5nuHDNa
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) February 2, 2022
“I think exploring why it’s a mistake will tell us not only things about adult-child sex and statutory rape but also about fundamental principles of morality,” Kershnar said.
Kershnar said that as a matter of legislation, “If you don’t know if something has an expected good or expected bad consequences, the thumb on the scale should go to liberty.”
“So, if we don’t know whether willing sex with 15-year-olds is going to have net good or bad consequences …people wanting to criminalize something bear the burden,” he continued. “Before we condemn people for engaging in these on the basis of probabilistic utilitarianism, we should know that it does pose a risk for those willing participants. I don’t think we know that.”
He suggests that we don’t know if sex with a minor is good or bad, so therefore it shouldn’t be banned or condemned pic.twitter.com/tFQZxArgQS
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) February 2, 2022
In a statement posted on Twitter, university President Stephen Kolison said the university was aware of the videos, and “the views expressed by the professor are reprehensible and do not represent the values of SUNY Fredonia in any way, shape or form. They are solely the professor’s views. The matter is being reviewed.”
A message from SUNY Fredonia President Stephen H. Kolison pic.twitter.com/EDZCHCE7ch
— SUNY Fredonia (@FredoniaU) February 2, 2022
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SUNY Fredonia and Kershnar did not respond to requests for comment.
