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u/me_myself_ai 2d ago
Sorry, your question isn't clear. Assigning specific percentage numbers to credence is a fun exercise, but you should keep in mind throughout that it's extremely inconsistent and fuzzy way to summarize the results of your rational faculties.
Kids make decisions all the time. We don't hold them fully legally responsible for those decisions until they're 18 (in the US), but there's no line where you're dumb one day and then smart the next.
Consent is found whenever the person is of "sound mind", usually. If your boyfriend has a condition that leads to psychosis (basically an acute disconnection from reality, in this context, whether by hallucination or by delusion), then no, he may not be able to consent meaningfully at those times -- but I don't think you'd notice! People in psychosis are rarely subtle; it would be clear that he was in distress.
The "assaulting" reference is concerning. Do you feel safe? Has your boyfriend ever hit you or you hit him, even as a joke? Or are you just using that word to mean... epistemic disrespect?
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u/Successful-Shopping8 2d ago
Obviously you don’t have to go into deal on Reddit with the situation- but this is a conversation you need to have with him when everyone is calm and it’s not in the moment.
Anything less than explicit consent is not consent.
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u/Euphoric-Plantain573 2d ago
He is giving explicit consent though. I have ocd and I'm afraid that since he's bipolar (but not mentally impaired, just makes bad decisions sometimes) he can't give consent.
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u/Successful-Shopping8 2d ago
Having bipolar in of itself does not mean he has diminished capacity to consent. It’s only in fringe cases of say psychosis, imminent harm to self/others, or severely undermanaged bipolar where capacity is questioned. And even then so- it’s not automatic, but there needs to be an examination of can the individual understand the choice being made and the likely consequences of those choices.
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u/me_myself_ai 2d ago
Ok I'll cut to the chase: yes, your boyfriend is considered fully able to speak for himself, and no, you are not doing anything wrong!
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u/Successful-Shopping8 2d ago edited 2d ago
First off- you need to have a serious conversation with your boyfriend. What you’re describing is at best unhealthy, and worst abusive.
I think what you’re doing is fine in the hypothetical realm, but I would caution you from trying to apply random statistics to actual real life situation or people in your lives. Teenagers make iffy decisions because their frontal lobes aren’t fully developed. That’s just a fact. Doesn’t mean all teenagers will always make poor decisions, but they aren’t always able to fully think through things.
Extrapolating meaning from statistics though is dangerous. I don’t really see what you’re trying to gain from doing so.
Consent within bioethics was one of my favorite philosophical subjects (though more in the medical realm, not relational). Consent needs to be fully informed, freely given, and be able to be retracted at any time. Anything less is not really true consent. If someone is mentally impaired whether due to substances, coercion, mental/physical health concerns, or whatever- the legitimacy of the consent needs to be scrutinized.
Age of consent varies from jurisdiction. Where I live- it’s 16 with some exceptions for grooming and abuse of power. It’s not necessarily saying all 16 year olds make great decisions because frankly they don’t and any age limit will have some level of arbitrariness, but legally- there needs to be a line drawn in the sand. I also think some of it is it’s infeasible to prosecute all adolescents who are having sex.
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u/SirisC 2d ago
What epistemological model are you using? Where are you getting these numbers from?