性行為的發展

性行為的發展概述: 生命起伏之说

人的性體驗究竟為哪一個發展模式?

正如我們已經明白的一樣，一名男子的性能力可能隨著歲月的流逝而減弱，而他體驗性快樂的能力可能會繼續提升。這並不是新近的觀察結果，只是開列一些令人感興趣而罕有人問起的問題而已：

人類的性體驗真正的本質是什麼？它是依賴于我們的生理能力而永恆？我們需要性喚起和性高潮以得到性滿足嗎？畢竟，愛，確切地說性愛（erotic love），甚至在缺乏任何“性”反應的情況下還能保持不斷地增強。愛，一旦得到的話，並不會隨著增長的年歲而淡漠。顯而易見，我們的快樂並不依賴于我們的青春和強壯而存在。不過，快樂是什麼？性愉悅也許僅僅預示著其它可能的滿足嗎？性愉悅是不斷深化的親密關係的來源，是心靈交融的源泉？性愉悅是個人塑造自我的起點，是精神之旅的起跑線？

許多文化都恰恰篤信並由此而強調性愉悅玄奧的精神體驗。對於這些文化體系，性愉悅是通向意識的更高平臺的通道。的確，增強的敏銳性可以幫助男女盡情享受歡樂時刻，可以幫助他們悅納作為短暫的生命，幫助他們歡樂而無條件地相互欣賞與美化——作為尚有瑕疵、必死無疑的生命體。對一些人，還可以幫助他們分享這個強化了的、也許為終極快樂的自我意識。

當然，這樣的信仰置身于科學王國之外，因此，我們在此也不再贅言。科學家必須把自己限定在那些能夠觀察與度量的研究領域之內。就人類的性的狀況，他們必須對所發現的事實真相感到滿足，並能夠提供只不過平平常常的一個個“相對真理（little truth）”。他們確信“絕對真理（great truth）”將永遠隱身於我們所有人的視野之外。

Development of Sexual Behavior

Introduction: A Curve?

Which Curve?

As we have seen, a man’s sexual capacity may diminish over the years, while his capacity for happiness may continue to increase. This is not a new observation, but it raises some interesting questions that are rarely asked:
What is the true essence of the human of sexual experience? Is it forever tied to our physical capacities? Do we need arousal and orgasm in order to find sexual fulfillment? After all, love, indeed erotic love, can keep growing even in the absence of any “sexual” response. Love, once found, does not diminish with our advancing age. Obviously then, our happiness does not depend on our youth and strength. But what is happiness? Is sexual pleasure perhaps nothing more than a foretaste of other possible satisfactions? Is it the beginning of an ever-deepening intimacy, of a meeting of souls? Is it a starting point of a personal transformation, a spiritual journey?
Many cultures believed just that and therefore emphasized the transcendental, spiritual aspects of sexual pleasure. For them, it was a pathway to a higher plane of consciousness. Indeed, a heightened sensibility may help women and men to savor the moment, to accept life as transitory and to appreciate each other - joyfully and without reservation - as imperfect, mortal beings. For some, sharing this intensified self-awareness may be the ultimate bliss.
Of course, such beliefs lie outside the realm of science, and we will therefore not explore them here any further. Sexologists have to restrict themselves to what can be observed and measured. They must be content with stating the facts as they find them and can offer only prosaic “little truths” about the human sexual condition. They know that the one “great truth” will forever remain hidden from all of us.