I Piss On Your Natural Law

St. Thomas Aquinas was an interesting person, and no doubt very important in regards to the development of Western philosophy, but those who think that simply alluding to him by mentioning “Natural Law” is some kind of showstopper and that they have unequivocally proved their point should have a look at his Prime Mover argument which supposedly was proof for the existence of God. He knocked their socks off with that one in the thirteenth century. Now, not so much.

Natural Law, that what’s used to claim the only logical sex is procreative sex with your opposite sex spouse and that masturbation and homo sex are violations of the supposed intended purpose of our sex parts, right? Sounds to me like those who make such arguments probably don’t fully understand human sexuality and that they want to keep it limited in scope so they can pretend they get it. (Or perhaps they just like moralizing and passing judgment.) Well, they can limit their own sexuality in any way they see fit, but if they want to limit others, they better have a damn good reason, and some vague reference to “Natural Law” or a 13^th century philosopher isn’t a very good reason in my view. And no, it is not a foregone conclusion that the purpose of our sexuality is limited to procreation. Simply to say that there is some kind of intrinsic purpose and that going against that purpose is immoral is to make all kinds of unsubstantiated assumptions about the world we live in.

In any even, I wonder what old Thomas would say about sexuality if he was around now and had access to contemporary scientific data. What would he say if he knew that masturbation was almost universal and that homosexuality was prevalent in many species? What would he say if he understood sexual orientation?

I’m so sick of human beings trying to make other human beings feel guilty about their sexual feelings and behavior. I don’t think feelings are bad in and of themselves. And I think behavior is wrong only when the behavior leads to harm. Can I prove my beliefs and ideas are correct? Probably not unequivocally. Most of the time I feel like I’m just flying by the seat of my pants, and that’s okay with me. I can imagine making some horrible mistake that I’ll regret forever, but that just seems like the risk you take by being alive and having an influence on the world around you. I do the best I can, except when I don’t. I know I’m a bundle of contradictions. I know that I can sometimes act selfishly and compulsively, and sometimes stupidly. But it’s my life to live, and I’ve not seen a supposedly airtight absolutist system yet that provided for airtight, absolutely good results.