性行为的发展

性行为的发展概述: 生命起伏之说?

正如我们已经明白的一样，一名男子的性能力可能随着岁月的流逝而减弱，而他体验性快乐的能力可能会继续提升。这并不是新近的观察结果，只是开列一些令人感兴趣而罕有人问起的问题而已：

人的性体验真正的本质是什么？它是依赖于我们的生理能力而永恒？我们需要性唤起和性高潮以得到性满足吗？毕竟，爱，确切地说性爱(erotic love)，甚至在缺乏任何“性”反应的情况下还能保持不断地增强。爱，一旦得到的话，并不会随着增长的年岁而淡漠。显而易见，我们的快乐并不依赖于我们的青春和强壮而存在。不过，快乐是什么？性愉悦也许仅仅预示着其它可能的满足吗？性愉悦是不断深化的亲密关系的来源，是心灵交融的源泉？性愉悦是个人塑造自我的起点，是精神之旅的起跑线？

许多文化都恰恰笃信并由此而强调性愉悦玄奥的精神体验。对于这些文化体系，性愉悦是通向意识的更高平台的通道。的确，增强的敏锐性可以帮助男女尽情享受欢乐时刻，可以帮助他们悦纳作为短暂的生命，帮助他们欢乐而无条件地相互欣赏与美化——作为尚有瑕疵、必死无疑的生命体。对一些人，还可以帮助他们分享这个强化了的、也许为终极快乐的自我意识。

当然，这样的信仰置身于科学王国之外，因此，我们在此也不再赘言。科学家必须把自己限定在那些能够观察与度量的研究领域之内。就人类的性的状况，他们必须对所发现的事实真相感到满足，并能够提供只不过平平常常的一个个“相对真理(little truth)”。他们确信“绝对真理(great truth)”将永远隐身于我们所有人的视野之外。

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.