ECLIPSE OF THE SOUL AND OF LAW: A PHILOSOPHICAL CRITIQUE OF THE PROTECTION OF PORNOGRAPHY BY THE PRINCIPLE OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Bruno Zampier
Graduated
in Law from the Curitiba University Center, postgraduate in Criminal Law and
Criminal Procedure from the Brazilian Academy of Constitutional Law, Master in
Philosophy from the Federal University of Paraná, Lawyer and professor of
Criminal Law and Philosophy of Law at the Campo Real University Center and the
University of the Midwest (Unicentro) in Guarapuava-PR.
ABSTRACT
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 .
Keywords: Freedom of expression. Pornography . Dehumanization of sexuality .
Reviewed by Current Scientific Journal
on
abril 30, 2026
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