ECLIPSE OF THE SOUL AND OF LAW: A PHILOSOPHICAL CRITIQUE OF THE PROTECTION OF PORNOGRAPHY BY THE PRINCIPLE OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Technological development has facilitated and universalized access to pornography through the internet. Following Ronald Dworkin's thought , both the jurisprudence of the Federal Supreme Court and the majority of legal doctrine consider that obscenity is protected by the principle of social adequacy and freedom of expression. This article presents and discussions this conception , contested by the conservative approach of John M. Finnis and Roger Scruton , who sustain a secular- based sexual morality . The method employed is bibliographic and jurisprudential review. It is concluded that pornography , far from being merely a harmless activity of private life , disseminates a dehumanized conception of sexuality , violating several legal provisions : it generates harm to character formation , sexual education , and the construction of affective family bonds . Such consequence is not sheltered by freedom of expression , since it violates the principle of human dignity .