Sexual Desire

Considerable scholarly discussion has been given to the idea that we are moving toward a state of “posthumanism.” This essay examines some possible implications of a posthuman existence, specifically as it relates to that most basic of human needs—sexuality. I explore the spiritual aspects of sexuality to see what is lost and what is gained in technologically mediated forms of sexuality. To that end, I consider the interplay between sexual behavior and our conceptions of the sacred, how technologies are changing our views of—and realities concerning—our bodies, and the potential for a sacred posthuman sexuality.

This article considers the ethics of sexual telepresence by tracing the history of mechanical and digital sex and exploring the possibilities facilitated by current and emerging technology. My aim is to consider how people have used technology to engage in new forms of sexual expression in order to more clearly delineate exactly what constitutes cheating and the ethical lines surrounding such behaviours. As with non-digital forms of intimacy, it seems clear that there is a range of behaviours that invite different people to draw the lines in different places, ranging from flirtation to erotic talk, to physical contact. But the goal of this article is not merely to consider where the lines may lie, but rather to examine how the medium in which the interaction takes place invites individuals to make particular moral judgments concerning what lines should exist at all concerning both physical and emotional intimacy.

Recent neuroscientific research suggests that romantic love can be literally addictive. Although the exact nature of the relationship between love and addiction is described in inconsistent terms throughout the literature, we offer a framework that distinguishes between a narrow view and a broad view of love addiction. The narrow view counts only the most extreme, harmful forms of love or love-related behaviors as being potentially addictive in nature. The broad view considers even basic social attachment as being on a spectrum of addictive motivations, underwritten by the same neuroanatomy and neurochemical processes as more conventional addictions. We argue that on either understanding of love-as-addiction, treatment decisions should hinge on considerations of harm and well-being rather than on definitions of disease. Implications for the ethical use of anti-love biotechnology are also considered.

“Love hurts”— as the saying goes — and a certain amount of pain and difficulty in intimate relationships is unavoidable. Sometimes it may even be beneficial, since adversity can lead to personal growth, self-discovery, and a range of other components of a life well-lived. But other times, love can be downright dangerous. It may bind a spouse to her domestic abuser, draw an unscrupulous adult toward sexual involvement with a child, put someone under the insidious spell of a cult leader, and even inspire jealousy-fueled homicide. How might these perilous devotions be diminished? The ancients thought that treatments such as phlebotomy, exercise, or bloodletting could “cure” an individual of love. But modern neuroscience and emerging developments in psychopharmacology open up a range of possible interventions that might actually work. These developments raise profound moral questions about the potential use—and misuse—of such anti-love biotechnology. In this essay we describe a number of prospective love-diminishing interventions, and offer a preliminary ethical framework for dealing with them responsibly should they arise.

"Although the romantic jealousy and the loving infidelity are two important subjects that affect some human relationships and, also, a challenge for many of them, its origin mechanisms, action, association and consequences that can contribute to loving unfolding occur, haven’t had pretty well clarified. The present work has the intention of to verify possible associations between these two phenomena.
Forty-five straight couples participated of this research with the average of 24.6 years enlisted by the following announcement in the website of the University of São Paulo (USP). To evaluate the degrees of jealousy of the participants it was used the Scale of romantic jealousy - ECR (masculine and feminine versions) of Ramos, Yazawa & Salazar (1994). To evaluate the infidelity of the participants the “Inventory of Behaviors Related to the Infidelity” was especially elaborated for this work.
To be able to analyze the results the following statistical tools had been used: average, standard deviation, maximum, minimum, the “T” test for comparison of averages and the test no parametric Mann-Whitney for the comparison of the medium ones. There were used Excel and Minitab soft wares.
The results show that (1) although in a weak way, the jealousy is an agent of self-fulfilling prophecy for the infidelity (r= 0,25; 90 gl; p< 0,05 e r = 0,21; 90 gl; p< 0,05), in such a way that there is an association among the infidelity in both partners (r=0,36; 45 gl; p< 0,05; r= 0,30; 45 gl; p< 0,05; r = 0,36; 45 gl; p< 0,01), (2) women usually tend to be less jealous than men (t = 2,11; 2,12; 2,32; 88 gl; p< 0,05), (3) men usually tend to trail much more than women, maybe because of reasons connected to sexuality (“W” test = 894,5; 826,0; 1496,5; p< 0.0001); the Freudian hypothesis was refuted for the existence of a jealousy of projective nature in men, but not for the women (r = 1,00; p <0,00), (5) the infidelity behaviors that more they stand out among the participants are related to the use of the net internet (to use chats-rooms, e-mails, on-line messages, among other) and to have thoughts related to the behaviors infidels; both are associated with the increase of the opportunities that the people have of if they engage in behaviors loving infidels, (6) there is a tendency, although weak, of as larger the attribution of the score physical "Evaluation for itself" minor will be the number of behaviors related to his own infidelity (r= - 0,261; 90 gl; p< 0,01), (7) there is a tendency even it is not strong, of as larger the physical Note attributed for the partner, smaller will be the jealousy score, for both stages of this research (r= - 0,217; 90 gl; p< 0,05 e r= - 0,205; 90 gl; p< 0,05, respectively), (8)There is nothing to conclude in relation to those people who give themselves superior or inferior grades, if the adopted criteria are the psychological factors, in relation to the partners in what it says respect to the jealousy, or even in what it refers to the infidelity (9) as the participants get older, the more they increase the level of commitment (r= 0,27; 90 gl; p< 0,01). So, it can be concluded that the results had supported some of the hypotheses established for the author of this research and had been consistent with previous research, although it has refuted others.
There is a lot to know, regarding which individuals are more susceptible to the infidelity, but this research allowed, inside of its references, to identify and to discuss a little on some factors that promote the infidelity, something that has not been a common subject for the academic literature until then. This way, it was also possible to have a better understanding of the interpersonal love dynamics, mainly, referring to these two themes. This research can still contribute to other researches related to the “Inventory of Behaviors Related to the Infidelity” that is useful to measure the frequency the infidel love behaviors occur."

The scientific community underlines that one of the main challenges for couples is the effect of time on sexual desire. Some studies suggest that although some dimensions associated with intimacy tend to increase during the relationship, sexual desire and the related constructs tend to decrease. Some researchers have recently suggested that couples’ relationships with high degrees of sharing and fusion might be particularly detrimental for the sustenance of sexual desire. However, the authors found no empirical or theoretical studies that investigate the relations between intimacy and desire. Recovering the concept of differentiation as a possible influencing variable between intimacy and desire, this article develops reflections on this theme, which is of paramount relevance for the couple viability.

Modern relationships break down in part because of a mismatch between our psycho-sexual natures and our relationship values, embedded within the context of modernity. If we hold our environment and our values constant, might we make up the difference through direct intervention in our psycho-sexual machinery - the neurochemical enhancement of love? Risks and objections, as well as practical considerations are considered.

"A good sense of humor is a desired trait in mates (Lippa, 2007) and friends (Sprecher & Regan, 2002).
Indeed, to laugh and to make another laugh evokes closeness and connectedness (Fraley & Aron, 2004;
Weisfeld, 1993). Still, researchers have given little attention to humor’s influence on attraction (humorliking link) and attraction’s influence on humor (liking-humor link). Studies that have examined these
links (e.g., Bressler & Balshine, 2006) are bounded by two limitations: (1) use of hypothetical scenarios;
(2) investigation of humor only in the context of romantic attraction. We addressed these limitations by
examining the humor-liking and liking-humor links using a social interaction paradigm in which
participants interacted with an unacquainted other. Furthermore, we explored possible mediators of the
humor-liking link: perceived similarity and enjoyment of the interaction. We focused on the humor-liking
link because it has been the primary target of attention in the humor literature. In Experiment 1, oppositesex participants interacted in a series of either humorous or similar non-humorous tasks and provided
ratings of romantic attraction and humor use. In Experiment 2, participants completed a turn-based selfdisclosure task and provided ratings of humor use and platonic liking. In Experiment 1, humorous
interactions led to greater ratings of attraction than non-humorous interactions; participants also used
more humor when interacting with an attractive partner. We replicated these effects with platonic liking in
Experiment 2. Furthermore, enjoyment of the interaction and perceived similarity mediated the humorliking link."