Scientists in a variety of areas have long studied the biological existence of sex, but one ISU professor is taking a philosophical approach to the topic.

Carla Fehr, assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies, is researching the biological and philosophical evolution of sex.

Ever since her undergraduate studies and field work in biology, Fehr said she has been interested in studying the evolution of sexual reproduction.

“What I found interesting, however, wasn’t a biological question,” she said. “It is easier to answer big, general questions in the philosophy department, such as how we think about science or what science is.”

She said the different backgrounds of biologists, ecologists and populations geneticists have different views on sex that “all are right.”

“From a philosophical perspective, science gives us many answers,” Fehr said. “So far these are different kinds of answers that don’t map onto each other very well.”

The question is “should there be one right answer?” or “which one of these right answers should we use to guide us?” Fehr said.

Although Fehr said she loves biology, she said it is not the place to get answers for her study.

“Biology gives us very vague answers,” she said. “It does a bad job of telling us what is right.”

She said trends in sexual philosophy cannot always be explained from a biological standpoint.

“Evolutionary biology had a hard time explaining it,” Fehr said. “Sex was a big challenge to evolutionary theory.”

For example, she said, sexual philosophies vary in respect to religion and orientation.

“Some people argue that homosexuality isn’t natural because, from an evolutionary perspective, it makes no sense,” Fehr said.

She said traditional society mandates that “women should be coy and find only one man” they can trust will help raise the child because becoming a parent is a major emotional and financial burden.

However, as ideas change and evolve, gender roles have changed.

Despite the many explanations for the existence of sexual reproduction as we know it, “we should not use biology to influence what we think is morally right or wrong,” Fehr said.

“Just because we have evolved this way doesn’t mean we should behave this way,” she said. “Just because dogs have evolved to have big canine teeth doesn’t mean they should go around and bite everything they see.”

There are different forces that affect how we have evolved, she said.

“Chance plays a huge role in how we have evolved. It is not always the fittest that survive, but sometimes the luckiest,” Fehr said. “We’re just so complicated it’s hard to say one thing is right.”

There also is a range of views on sex from religious standpoints that have evolved over time, said Shawn Spooner, who is active in the Catholic church.

“My view is that the Catholic church advocates abstinence totally,” said Spooner, senior in exercise and sport science. “That would be the ideal situation.”

As society changes the boundaries of sex, the views of the church may continue to evolve, he said.

“Society has become more flexible in that the church is not changing its doctrine but lending support to those who have [followed it],” Spooner said.

He said current attitudes towards sex are an example of how the church and society have evolved over recent decades.

“Several decades ago [pre-marital sex] was probably looked down upon no matter what your religion,” he said. “Now people are more occupation-oriented than family-oriented, and the church follows society with the time..”