Thoughts on Bottling Desires and Sexual Morality

Scruton argues that the reason for a “cult of innocence”, or the practice of educating young people about sex purely through rationality and without any hand-on-experience, is that spoiling this innocence leads to an imbalance of virtue. The term innocence seems vague but it is not used that way; sexual desire will be had regardless, but it can be bottled up or let loose (both extremes of the virtue of sexual morality). When such desires are bottled up it can lead to unhealthy expressions/outlets of those desires, while letting loose with such desires causes an agent to comprehend sex as an entirely physical action with a body, not with the person whom that body belongs to. A balance of sexual morality is achieved, according to Scruton, by teaching sex while encouraging chastity until a more perfect form of desire (which is both overwhelming and intentionally controlled) can be targeted on a “project” or true love for marriage. Though based in Aristotle’s Nichomachean ethics, or virtue ethics, following the middle ground virtue tends to lead to a “greater good” result than the extremes do. Scruton devalues over-indulging in sex because it leads to an under-appreciation for it, and therefore less enjoyment gained from it. Bottling up the desires is devalued because then a personal cannot target their desires onto a “project” in a healthy way and, ultimately, fulfillment of such desires is a two-person job. The question could be raised as to whether Scruton is headed in the right direction with sexual morality. I would argue that he is, though as always I am tempted to do so from a utilitarian basis. Within an individual, desires can build and be released, and both the building and releasing of desire can “feel good”. However, a lack of or excess of anything is bad. For example, not eating healthy vegetables is bad, but eating so many that you don’t eat other food groups or eating so many that you gain weight would be bad. Similarly, Aristotle’s ethics such as pride and temperance all are good in moderation but not in excess or too little. Just so, an excess of building up desire without releasing it could lead to someone releasing desire in an unhealthy (unskillful) way such as rape, and as Scruton says an excess of releasing of desire leads to an under-appreciation for the experience. It seems to me that not all (extreme Catholic viewpoints and such) but a few ideas of the “good” like Aristotle’s “happiness” are all maximized by balancing sexual virtue through sex education but delaying the act itself.