Human Beings and Sexual Desire free essay sample

The Human Person and Sexual Desire Human beings have a natural tendency to violate the natural laws of the universe, such as destroying rainforests or spilling oil into the ocean. Our treatment of sexual activity is similar in regards to us violating the purpose of sexual activity, which is reproduction. When God created the earth, God’s purpose was for humans to â€Å"be fruitful and multiply†. Nowhere in there did God say anything about engaging in sex for the purpose of pleasure. However, human beings have been careless with God’s plan. This violation of God’s plan is one of the reasons why Pope Paul VI wrote his Encyclical Letter Humane Vitae. Pope Paul VI mentioned his fear â€Å"that world population is increasing more rapidly than available resources, with the consequence of growing distress for so many families and developing countries† (Pope Paul VI 8-9). The reason for the increase in population is because men and women, married or not, are engaging in sexual intercourse and having children left and right without regards to it, only regards to sexual pleasure. When a man and woman marry, they enter into a covenant, and married love is â€Å"fully human†¦ total†¦ faithful†¦ and fruitful† (12-13). If the man and woman want, their conjugal love can produce offspring, but they may realize that with certain â€Å"physical, economic, psychological and social conditions, responsible parenthood† may make having children under these conditions difficult and parents must â€Å"avoid a new birth for the time being, or even for an indeterminate period† (13-14). The Pope went on to mention how birth control is the most effective way to prevent over population and unwanted pregnancies, but not in the form of contraceptives, abortion, or â€Å"direct sterilization, whether perpetual or temporary, whether of the man or of the woman† (16-17). The Pope, however, states that if it is necessary to space births, â€Å"deriving from the physical or psychological conditions of husband or wife, or from external circumstances, the Church teaches that it is then permissible to take into account the natural rhythms immanent in the generative functions and to make use of marriage during the infertile times only† (19). In other words, the only time a husband and wife can engage in sexual intercourse for pleasure alone is when the woman is on her monthly cycle, at which time she is infertile. This way, it will not offend any of the moral principles of marriage and of what God teaches and at the same time, it will regulate births (19). Pope Paul VI warns of the consequences of using artificial birth control, such as abortion, contraceptives, or sterilization. He states â€Å"how wide and easy a road would thus be opened to conjugal infidelity and to a general lowering of morality. Further, â€Å"the man†¦may in the end lose respect for his wife, and no longer [care] about her physical and psychological well-being† (20); she will then become an instrument for self-enjoyment. Young people would also be tempted to break the moral law. Pope Paul VI’s predictions were fairly accurate, as can be seen in abortion, divorce rates, teen pregnancies, and prostitution. In The Ego and the Id, Sigmund Freud conducted many clinical trials to determine the dynamics of the psyche of human beings. From his clinical experience, he began to view sex as much more important in the psyche than other needs. Libido, or â€Å"I desire† in Latin, refers to any desire, but Freud places high emphasis on the desire for sex, and calls it â€Å"erotic libido† (Freud 45). The pleasure principle refers to the human beings tendency to desire sex to make their lives better. The psyche fends off the tensions of the pleasure principle, found in the Eros, in various ways: â€Å"By striving for the satisfaction of the directly sexual trends†¦[and] by discharge of the sexual substances, which are saturated vehicles, so to speak, of the erotic tensions† (46). Both Freud and Pope Paul VI discuss sexual desire as something innate in human beings. I feel that the media and the way women and men are portrayed as sex objects make it difficult for human beings to control their urges to have sex for pleasure alone. If these outside stimulants were better controlled, there would be less pressure for men and women to engage in sexual activities for the purpose of pleasure. For instance, young women in non-western countries are more reserved in both their appearance and mannerisms. This reflects highly on the amount of young women who engage in sexual activity for pleasure in those countries. Western young women, on the other hand, dress more provocatively and act less reserved; and the amount of western young girls who engage in sex for pleasure is astronomical in comparison to non-western countries. The main reason western girls dress and act less reserved than non-western girls is in part due to the way older women are portrayed in the media. These young girls see beautiful models dressed in revealing clothes and hugging on handsome male models and acting â€Å"loose†, which makes them want to act and dress the same way. In the non-western countries, women and men are not shown in the same manner in the media, if the media even exists at all in those countries. According to Pope Paul VI, this is not what sex is meant for; it is meant for procreation. Freud says that it is a normal behavior for human beings to engage in sex for pleasure, because of the Eros, but he does not say whether he thinks it is right or wrong. The use of contraception, whether it be abortion, â€Å"the pill†, or sterilization, only makes it OK to continue engaging in sex for pleasure and ignoring the purpose for which God created it. If a person knows all they have to do is put on a condom or take a pill every day in order to have sex without producing offspring, he or she will perform those sexual activities more often. In order to get past this misconception of God’s plan, human beings need to be educated on the purpose of sex and develop virtues in order to become a follower of God’s plan.