What is sex?

[EscortInspector]

I'm not interested in the dictionary definition of sex and I'm not interested in a biological, psychological or pathological explanation for what motivates one to have sex. Rather, I am interested in how the community views sex in the context of ethics. Sex is a good thing, in most cases, and it is something desired by most people, but what kind of good is it? Is sex an instrumental good, good only insofar as it's consequences: sex leads to money, a feeling of satisfaction, attachment, status, psychological and physical wellbeing, a family etc etc; perhaps sex is intrinsically good: sex itself is enjoyable; or is it a combination of the two, good in itself and for it's consequences?

Some examples of instrumental goods would be surgery and exercise, both can lead to injuries and complications but the benefits of successful surgeries and fitness programs outweigh the negatives. An example of an intrinsic good would be pleasure or happiness, they are desired because of what they are rather than what they lead to and many other things are desired because they lead to pleasure or happiness. An example of something that is both instrumentally good and intrinsically good would be friendship, having friends is desirable in itself and there are many benefits to having friends.

Where does sex fit into this framework?

tl;dr: Is sex the journey, the destination or both?

[new67]

That is one hell of a question, and its one I have no answer for but I look forward to seeing if someone can answer it
Good on ya..

[MrCreen]

I'm not interested in the dictionary definition of sex and I'm not interested in a biological, psychological or pathological explanation for what motivates one to have sex. Rather, I am interested in how the community views sex in the context of ethics. Sex is a good thing, in most cases, and it is something desired by most people, but what kind of good is it? Is sex an instrumental good, good only insofar as it's consequences: sex leads to money, a feeling of satisfaction, attachment, status, psychological and physical wellbeing, a family etc etc; perhaps sex is intrinsically good: sex itself is enjoyable; or is it a combination of the two, good in itself and for it's consequences?

Some examples of instrumental goods would be surgery and exercise, both can lead to injuries and complications but the benefits of successful surgeries and fitness programs outweigh the negatives. An example of an intrinsic good would be pleasure or happiness, they are desired because of what they are rather than what they lead to and many other things are desired because they lead to pleasure or happiness. An example of something that is both instrumentally good and intrinsically good would be friendship, having friends is desirable in itself and there are many benefits to having friends.

Where does sex fit into this framework?

tl;dr: Is sex the journey, the destination or both?

It's an urge to be quenched? Strip away all the fluff and it's what our lizard brains tell us to do..eat, shit, sleep, fuck and fight? It's nothing special really in and of itself.

Its neither good nor bad ethically speaking..I think.

[EscortInspector]

It's an urge to be quenched? Strip away all the fluff and it's what our lizard brains tell us to do..eat, shit, sleep, fuck and fight? It's nothing special really in and of itself.

Its neither good nor bad ethically speaking..I think.

It’s amazing really. Your cock seems to know when it has, apologies for crudeness, not dipped into a person’s orifice. It knows for days that it’s been relieved. The urge is why this site exists. We are flawed in that some, myself included, really crave fucking others.

Natural explanations stripped of moral content, taking issue with the initial premise that sex is a good thing. Excellent philosophy! I'm very sympathetic to this view myself: nihilism, at least we regard to morals, seems to be true.

[EscortInspector]

I have the answer after further thought and it’s mind blowing!
Sex is an itch that needs scratching, scratch too much and it will hurt.

So, just like we do not value the scratch but rather the relief that scratching gives us from an itch, then sex too is just the scratching of an itch. It's instrumental, we do it for the consequences which can be both desirable and undesirable. Seems that sex is valued more as a means than an end, sex leads to something more desirable than sex itself.

[RoddyMcCorley]

Sex…..

A gift from God???

A dirty word?

It has caused murders

It has caused new life

You can buy it

BUT you can’t give it to anyone who doesn’t want it.

It’s symbolic

It’s fun

It’s healthy

It’s sometimes disappointing

It’s sometimes mind blowing

It’s always on our mind

It’s fun to watch

It’s funnier to do

It’s messy

It’s dirty

It’s absolutely great

No matter who you are, enjoy it.

[EscortInspector]

Sex…..

A gift from God???

A dirty word?

It has caused murders

It has caused new life

You can buy it

BUT you can’t give it to anyone who doesn’t want it.

It’s symbolic

It’s fun

It’s healthy

It’s sometimes disappointing

It’s sometimes mind blowing

It’s always on our mind

It’s fun to watch

It’s funnier to do

It’s messy

It’s dirty

It’s absolutely great

No matter who you are, enjoy it.

Overall, sex is good and instrumental, valued primarily for the benefits it brings however it isn't necessarily good, it can have negative consequences. At least that is what I gather from your post. Really interesting.

[RoddyMcCorley]

Overall, sex is good and instrumental, valued primarily for the benefits it brings however it isn't necessarily good, it can have negative consequences. At least that is what I gather from your post. Really interesting.

Hah, I'm not that deep. It's interesting how sex in humans evolved, in most animals the female is only receptive when she's ovulating, and males are only attracted at that time. In humans, females can be receptive all the time even when pregnant or after menopause. They have overcome the need for high oestrogen levels, and therefore sex has become primarily recreational rather than procreational in our species.

Also sex in humans can be any orifice and any gender, but there are still laws that need to be updated to be compatible with our evolving sexuality.

You could write a book on this topic.

[EscortInspector]

Hah, I'm not that deep. It's interesting how sex in humans evolved, in most animals the female is only receptive when she's ovulating, and males are only attracted at that time. In humans, females can be receptive all the time even when pregnant or after menopause. They have overcome the need for high oestrogen levels, and therefore sex has become primarily recreational rather than procreational in our species.

Also sex in humans can be any orifice and any gender, but there are still laws that need to be updated to be compatible with our evolving sexuality.

You could write a book on this topic.

Please put a chapter in that book called “Do Not Look at this Site if you Want your Brain to be Devoid of Strong Sexual Urges to all Escorts”!! I look at pictures and read reviews and this flutter of excitement rises in my stomach.

There's no doubt that sex is central to life, we wouldn't be here (alive or on this great site) without it. As for writing books about sex, the market is literally saturated. Personally I prefer dialogue to reading, it's more dynamic and requires willing participants, just like sex is better than porn!

[captainwagger]

Sex is a hard topic to nail down. In blokes friends circles it is often only in referred to in a piss take manner. I would think a high percentage of males can't discuss sex in an open and honest manner, even with their partners let alone another male. We know it's a bit of an off (I was going to say taboo but a bit strong perhaps) topic in polite society. So when asked 'how are you today?' we don't say 'horney as fuck!' and we talk about the weather or sport and you may go so far as to say (to a mate) 'banged the missus last night so feeling a bit lighter today thanks.' But in day to day conversation its kept in the dark.

So sex to me, and I'm encompassing all the different types of sex when I say sex, is something the majority of adults in the world probably enjoy, even if only for procreation and find necessary to their happiness. But it's a topic that we feel afraid of discussing openly. Probably for good reason, could you imagine the poor females if it was an open discussion topic!

It is a shame that so many do find it difficult to discuss sex openly though and I was one of them, for the most part of my younger existence I'd of been extremely embarrassed if a female or even a mate had tried to talk about sex with me! Nowadays, we'd probably have to set aside some quality time to get through everything we'd like to talk about.

All of the above is from a 1st world westerners point of view of course, I don't know how it is discussed or percieved on many other parts of the planet and religions are going to put their stamp on it as well. I think in Scandinavian counties they are better at talking about it than us?

I also think it is everthing Roddy Mc said as well, except for the god bit, no question mark needed for me.