4 ms·

Sex is an important part of human relations, to forgo it is to leave out an important part of your personal development in my opinion.

sandworm101 11y ago
Careful. Sex is an agreement, not a choice. There are lots of people in this world who would like to have sex but for whatever reasons cannot or do not. Abstinence is also a focus of countless religious traditions. I would hesitate to tell any of those people they lacked in personal development.
- mbel 11y ago
  Personally, I think it is crucial in personal development because, as you put it, it is an agreement, not a choice. There are some lessons to be learned from getting somebody to agree with you on something.
  - 6d0debc071 11y ago
    Certainly. However, there are many things where people are expected to reach agreement. It's not clear that this has to be the matter on which they learn it. Indeed, considering the harm that can result, it's probably better if they learn to reach agreement on some other matter first.
    - int_handler 11y ago
      Can you elaborate? There is potential risk of harm resulting for many other areas of personal developments as well.
      - 6d0debc071 11y ago
        Specifically on risks of harm? Sure: Faults in agreement include parties generating agreement that doesn't reflect their values and/or desires, and the illusion of agreement by one or both parties. While there is potential risk of harm in many other areas of development - including other areas of agreement - the stakes are not usually so high. Getting an illusion of agreement for what movie to see, what restaurant to eat at, or (at a younger age) what toy to play with, will tend to have less severe consequences than an illusion of agreement over whether to sleep with someone. It is not clear that someone gains the most from risking the most. Why is an agreement over sex the defining developmental step of the skill? Especially since there are so many easy ways to reach such an agreement if you're not particularly picky. (I believe the classical example is, 'You give me money and I sleep with you.')
- int_handler 11y ago
  Agreement are choices. When people have sex, they choose to agree to do so, hence the importance of consent. I disagree that it is invalid to suggest that those who abstain from having sex due to reasons such as religious traditions lack certain aspects of personal development. For example, there are studies that show a clear correlation between abstinence education and _higher_ rates of teen pregnancy [1] and STI transmission rates [2]. [1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3194801/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3194801/ [2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20378905 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20378905
hugh4 11y ago
I doubt too many people will become permanently celibate due to porn. But they might forego a random risky encounter with a stranger in favour of ten minutes with tube-something. That seems like a win. Future sexbots, on the other hand...

sandworm101 11y ago

Careful. Sex is an agreement, not a choice. There are lots of people in this world who would like to have sex but for whatever reasons cannot or do not. Abstinence is also a focus of countless religious traditions. I would hesitate to tell any of those people they lacked in personal development.

mbel 11y ago
Personally, I think it is crucial in personal development because, as you put it, it is an agreement, not a choice. There are some lessons to be learned from getting somebody to agree with you on something.
- 6d0debc071 11y ago
  Certainly. However, there are many things where people are expected to reach agreement. It's not clear that this has to be the matter on which they learn it. Indeed, considering the harm that can result, it's probably better if they learn to reach agreement on some other matter first.
  - int_handler 11y ago
    Can you elaborate? There is potential risk of harm resulting for many other areas of personal developments as well.
    - 6d0debc071 11y ago
      Specifically on risks of harm? Sure: Faults in agreement include parties generating agreement that doesn't reflect their values and/or desires, and the illusion of agreement by one or both parties. While there is potential risk of harm in many other areas of development - including other areas of agreement - the stakes are not usually so high. Getting an illusion of agreement for what movie to see, what restaurant to eat at, or (at a younger age) what toy to play with, will tend to have less severe consequences than an illusion of agreement over whether to sleep with someone. It is not clear that someone gains the most from risking the most. Why is an agreement over sex the defining developmental step of the skill? Especially since there are so many easy ways to reach such an agreement if you're not particularly picky. (I believe the classical example is, 'You give me money and I sleep with you.')
int_handler 11y ago
Agreement are choices. When people have sex, they choose to agree to do so, hence the importance of consent. I disagree that it is invalid to suggest that those who abstain from having sex due to reasons such as religious traditions lack certain aspects of personal development. For example, there are studies that show a clear correlation between abstinence education and _higher_ rates of teen pregnancy [1] and STI transmission rates [2]. [1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3194801/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3194801/ [2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20378905 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20378905

hugh4 11y ago

I doubt too many people will become permanently celibate due to porn. But they might forego a random risky encounter with a stranger in favour of ten minutes with tube-something. That seems like a win. Future sexbots, on the other hand...