3 ms·

The "natural urge" is to procreate, not to simply have sex.

ionised 8y ago
I've read things that stated the opposite was true for men, that their natural urge is to have sex, not to create children. The children are just the product of successful sex, and we are just vessels for our genes. My own experience confirms this, as I greatly desire sex and have no inclination whatsoever to have children. Though before the advent of contraception I likely would have ended up with children regardless because I pursued sex so much.
- throwaway413 8y ago
  Your sex drive is a naturally evolved mechanism to get you to have those kids. Whether or not you consciously want those kids is more about conditioning. The whole reason sex feels so good is to get us to divert such focus and energy to getting laid and making kids. Getting in each others’ jeans is, like, in our genes man.
  - ionised 8y ago
    Yes, I understand this. Sex feeling good is the incentive to have sex and as a result, procreate. What I'm saying is that the urge to have sex itself is the natural urge, not the resulting offspring, and it sounds like you're agreeing with me.
    - throwaway413 8y ago
      I hear you there. What I’m arguing is that the urge to have sex itself is the manifestion of the true urge, which is to procreate. You want to have sex because you naturally want to procreate, even if you don’t consciously want to. Thinking about it more though, you might be right. There might be a reason that not 100% of sex turns into procreation. If we were truly focused on optimal procreation, why did we evolve into small familial groups? Maybe there is more natural purpose to sex beyond simply procreating. Maybe we do truly yearn for sex in of itself because it represents opportunity or potential, creating a metric for determining the best mate to procreate with. And that’s what we are actually focused on subconsciously...who knows.
tropo 8y ago
It will be, because birth control will affect the evolution of our mental traits. Given the high effectiveness of birth control, this evolution is likely to be rapid.

I've read things that stated the opposite was true for men, that their natural urge is to have sex, not to create children. The children are just the product of successful sex, and we are just vessels for our genes. My own experience confirms this, as I greatly desire sex and have no inclination whatsoever to have children. Though before the advent of contraception I likely would have ended up with children regardless because I pursued sex so much.

throwaway413 8y ago
Your sex drive is a naturally evolved mechanism to get you to have those kids. Whether or not you consciously want those kids is more about conditioning. The whole reason sex feels so good is to get us to divert such focus and energy to getting laid and making kids. Getting in each others’ jeans is, like, in our genes man.
- ionised 8y ago
  Yes, I understand this. Sex feeling good is the incentive to have sex and as a result, procreate. What I'm saying is that the urge to have sex itself is the natural urge, not the resulting offspring, and it sounds like you're agreeing with me.
  - throwaway413 8y ago
    I hear you there. What I’m arguing is that the urge to have sex itself is the manifestion of the true urge, which is to procreate. You want to have sex because you naturally want to procreate, even if you don’t consciously want to. Thinking about it more though, you might be right. There might be a reason that not 100% of sex turns into procreation. If we were truly focused on optimal procreation, why did we evolve into small familial groups? Maybe there is more natural purpose to sex beyond simply procreating. Maybe we do truly yearn for sex in of itself because it represents opportunity or potential, creating a metric for determining the best mate to procreate with. And that’s what we are actually focused on subconsciously...who knows.

tropo 8y ago

It will be, because birth control will affect the evolution of our mental traits. Given the high effectiveness of birth control, this evolution is likely to be rapid.