Current Meanings of the Term 4: Life-enhancing Behavior

Eros, the “Life Instinct”

When “sexual behavior” is defined as the expression of “Eros, the basic life instinct”, the term "sexual behavior" becomes quite inclusive. It then may refer not only to all forms of lovemaking between men and women, but also to all sorts of other human activities. Indeed, it may be applied to infantile breast- and thumbsucking as well as to adult eating, drinking, dancing, singing, painting, or collecting art. The only question in all of these cases is one of motivation. If the behavior is somehow motivated by the wish for pleasure, if it is prompted by an individual's inner need for self-fulfillment, if it satisfies him or gives him comfort, if it heightens his sense of being alive - then it is sexual.
One could even go further and speak of sexual behavior in individuals who daydream about love or who act out their erotic fantasies in an unrecognizable, symbolic fashion. One could also say that the "sex drive" is blocked, warped, or disturbed in some men and women, and that they therefore offend, attack, hurt, maim, or even kill other people in a "perverted" attempt to obtain sexual satisfaction. In some of these cases, obvious sexual clues might even be entirely absent. Nevertheless, a psychoanalyst could perhaps track them down and thus reveal the "true" motivation. (On the other hand, in the end the "true" motivation may also turn out to be entirely negative, i.e. a manifestation of “Thanatos, the death instinct”. Then the suspected sexual behavior would stand revealed as not having been sexual at all.)
These few examples may suffice to show that the above definition of sexual behavior is problematical. Certainly, it is not descriptive and neutral as were the two earlier definitions. Instead, it is evaluative and contains a strong element of speculation. In any case, it has not proved to be very useful to scientists. By the same token, however, it has often had great appeal for moralists and philosophers.