Yes, I think a study would be interesting too. Given that it's a naturally interesting subject, surely studies must already have been attempted? I might have another look.Kathyd wrote:I've always found it comical how guys joke around about their own sexuality, particularly when it comes to the topic of self-control. I mean, really?! If you and Steve couldn't masturbate several times a day you might go mad? I honestly would like to see a study done on this, just out of curiosity.
I think one of the reasons for joking about intimate subjects like sex is because, as a broad generalization, men tend to find it harder to talk to each other about intimate, personal, emotional subjects than women do. Joking is often a very effective safety mechanism because it allows you to say things that you actually mean seriously but which you can dismiss as a joke if people start slowly backing away with frozen smiles on their faces.
As Eduk said, it's not about literally going bark-at-the-moon mad (although I bet an interesting discussion could be had about the origins of werewolf stories in human sexuality). Anyway, in my experience again, it slows down a lot as one gets older. Personally, I can go without any kind of sexual outlet for weeks at a time now. I couldn't have imagined that was possible 30 years ago. I was discussing this with an old school friend just recently. We were having the familiar old middle-aged people's discussion about the disappearance of sex in relationships and whether it matters.
It's as much human, and other animals, nature as anything possibly could be.I mean, I wouldn't necessarily call masturbation "human nature".
Desipite the fact that it's often referred to as "having sex with yourself", it isn't really is it? That's just a figure of speech.Sex, yes. But I'm not sure now "natural" it is to have sex with yourself!
As I've said, I don't agree with that. I agree with the parallel that Eduk draws with chocolate. Eating several large bars of chocolate is self-indulgent specifically because it is unhealthy.After all, according to the Scriptures it is a sin, and I think we'd all agree it's a rather self-indulgent behavior that ideally we would not do.
And obviously if someone else has written down on a piece of paper that something is a sin (and referred to that particular piece of writing as "scripture") that doesn't mean I automatically believe them. You shouldn't believe everything that's written down, regardless of the word that is used to describe that writing or of your religious convictions. Even people with religious faith don't believe everything they're told, as evidenced by the number of Catholics who happily ignore their church's prohibition on contraception because they presumably understand, without having to explicitly say it, that forbidding contraception is just something the head of the Catholic church has to say, for reasons of tradition, but everyone knows it can be ignored because it's self-evidently mad.
This is an interesting philosophical point that, strangely, seems to me to be related to the separate subject of human copying/teleportation discussed in other threads. As you say, it seems likely that the experience is extremely painful and traumatic, but there doesn't seem to be any evidence of long term harm. Is this because childhood pain is forgotten as we grow? Does this make it more acceptable? Is memory of pain a crucial ingredient of that pain? Suppose I was in agonizing pain 5 seconds ago but my memory of it was then completely wiped. Suppose that happens regularly, every 5 minutes. Does it matter? I don't know.Greta wrote:The effects of circumcision certainly don't seem to have created significant dysfunction in men; no character differences between the cut and uncut have been observed to the best of my knowledge, so it would seem that subsequent development swamps the early trauma. Still, theoretically, it seems impossible to imagine how heavy surgical procedures performed without adequate pain relief - during the most formative time of life aside from gestation - would not add an element of fearfulness to the person's character.