Is sexually induced happiness morally different from happiness induced in other ways?

All opinions welcome

I don't think so. We're spiritual and physical beings and are meant to partake of it all. Sex was made pleasurable for a reason, so naturally makes us happy.
I only think things become morally wrong when they are abused.

Originally Posted by Tal

I only think things become morally wrong when they are abused.

How would you define this abuse?

Originally Posted by Ungweliante

How would you define this abuse?

I think everything needs to be balanced. I think extremism in any sense is abuse. For example I think eating is good and brings happiness and pleasure, I think over eating is morally wrong.
Extreme spirituality is the same. If a person disconnects from the world and being human to live constantly on a spiritual plain and ignores his bodily needs, I also think that's morally wrong.
Etc. Etc.

The issue is "morality," eh? Are you talking about committing rape, masturbation, awkwardly fumbling around with a new partner that you'll discard in the morning or making sweet-sweet love to the person you will spend your life with? I think each of these has their own implicit morality. This also begs the question, "what are 'other ways?' Heroine? Exercise? Witnessing the birth of your child?" So, is sex any better...

1.) Rape. Probably not.

2.) Masturbation. Sort of a middle ground. If it keeps you from humping strangers and/or the furniture, then releasing pressure is a good then. The down side is that is reinforces a fantasy, which by definition is divorced from reality and thus will jade you perspective of interacting with the opposite sex.

3.) Random hook-up. Why? What compels this behavior? Neurotic impulses? What are you attempting to satisfy? Perhaps time is better spent trying to understand why you're drawn to sex? Does it just feel good? Does it make you feel special and accepted? Does it verify your attractiveness? Does it fill a dark void in your heart? Think about it? What makes this all the worse is that you have to ask these questions of your partner. Are they using you too?

4.) Long-term commitment. Seems solid. There's little worry and no longer any fronts. In my opinion, it just keeps getting better, because you can be honest with each other, and by doing so learn about yourself as a sexual being; honestly, not neurotically.

5.) I'll propose a 5th that most probably don't consider. According to Daoist theories of self-cultivation, sexual energy (jing), when cultivated is that which transforms into chi. Chi in turn can then be transformed into divine energy (shen) which then collapses into the Dao. My point is that through abstinence and learning about your sexual energy, the energy changes into something more subtle and far more beautiful. Remember the Seinfeld episode where they swear off sex and George suddenly finds himself with the time and energy to learn Portuguese? That's no exaggeration. The clarity and spiritual insight gained from cultivating sexual energy seems to me to be the most fulfilling and rewarding. The morality of it is also inculpable.

Originally Posted by Tal

I think everything needs to be balanced. I think extremism in any sense is abuse. For example I think eating is good and brings happiness and pleasure, I think over eating is morally wrong.
Extreme spirituality is the same. If a person disconnects from the world and being human to live constantly on a spiritual plain and ignores his bodily needs, I also think that's morally wrong.
Etc. Etc.

This has definite connections with Chinese philosophy. Have you read about taoism ?

From: Yinyang (Yin-yang)[The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]

Despite the differences in the interpretation, application, and appropriation of yinyang, three basic themes underlie nearly all deployments of the concept in Chinese philosophy: (1) yinyang as the coherent fabric of nature and mind, exhibited in all existence, (2) yinyang as jiao (interaction) between the waxing and waning of the cosmic and human realms, and (3) yinyang as a process of harmonization ensuring a constant, dynamic balance of all things. As the Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu) claims, “Yin in its highest form is freezing while yang in its highest form is boiling. The chilliness comes from heaven while the warmness comes from the earth. The interaction of these two establishes he (harmony), so it gives birth to things. Perhaps this is the law of everything yet there is no form being seen.”(Zhuangzi, Chapter 21). In none of these conceptions of yinyang is there a valuational hierarchy, as if yin could be abstracted from yang (or vice versa), regarded as superior or considered metaphysically separated and distinct. Instead, yinyang is emblematic of valuational equality rooted in the unified, dynamic, and harmonized structure of the cosmos. As such, it has served as a heuristic mechanism for formulating a coherent view of the world throughout Chinese intellectual and religious history.


Also from: Taoism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(...) Tao can be roughly stated to be the flow of the universe, or the force behind the natural order, equating it with the influence that keeps the universe balanced and ordered.

In ancient Taoist texts, wu wei is associated with water through its yielding nature. Water is soft and weak, but it can move earth and carve stone. Taoist philosophy proposes that the universe works harmoniously according to its own ways. When someone exerts his will against the world, he disrupts that harmony. Taoism does not identify man's will as the root problem. Rather, it asserts that man must place his will in harmony with the natural universe.

Originally Posted by Ungweliante

This has definite connections with Chinese philosophy. Have you read about taoism ?

I have read a little Chinese philosophy, I've read more Greek than Chinese, I definately need to read more.

It's not just Chinese philosophy though, it's also Jewish law.


Law 3
"The two extremes of each quality are not the proper and worthy path for one to follow or train himself in. And if a person finds his nature inclining towards one of them or if he has already accustomed himself in one of them, he must bring himself back to the good and upright path."
Law 4
"The upright path is the middle path of all the qualities known to man. This is the path which is equally distant from the two extremes, not being too close to either side. Therefore the Sages instructed that a person measure (lit., estimate) his character traits, directing them in the middle path so he will be whole. (Rambam, Mishneh Torah)

And of course there's the cosmic balancing of the spiritual and physical realms found in Kabbala.

I've just generally found the concept to be true in general in all aspects of life.

In order for anything, including sex, to 'induce' happiness I think it has to be part of a more complicated whole... otherwise sex, like anything, turns into a stimulant, or an addiction, and I imagine that like any addiction one ends up 'chasing the dragon' so to speak, and any positive gets drowned into an inner abyss of unhappiness that will never be filled with anything. But the beautiful thing about sex is it has the potential to reach and fulfill us on many levels and on many dimensions. So I think sex has the potential to induce a really profound sort of happiness in the right conditions (I don't mean morally so much as non-destructive, though I think morality is a guide here), moreso than simply financial security or career success or... or... idk, what compares to sex lol? The creative arts maybe, IMO. But morally... I don't think sex is more or less moral than anything else, I mean, I think the morality comes in with how you approach something, not so much the thing itself.

No, when you are with someone sex may highten feelings but it isn't really diffrent really, if you love someone and have sex with them, you're feelings for them are not really going to change, depending on the person, they are going to make you just as happy holding your hand as they are when you're going at it.

at least that's how it is for me, I don't know if it's everyone, but I think people take plesure in a lot of things, and when you're happy, you're happy, there isn't a diffrence