tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397772625267207754.post8917601371332154777..comments2023-08-16T01:30:11.514-07:00Comments on During the World: Celibate GandhiMatthew Martin Nickoloffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03147355917324915414noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397772625267207754.post-8864907344662379312013-03-27T14:30:53.251-07:002013-03-27T14:30:53.251-07:00"Freud’s influence on our thinking is such th..."Freud’s influence on our thinking is such that we now see all forms of sexual renunciation as repression and neurosis."<br /><br />Except Freud never believed that; he characterized celibacy as sublimation, rather than repression. He characterized St. Francis of Assisi as someone who found inner, emotional peace through celibacy, and who exchanged loving an individual for a universal love for all mankind.<br /><br />One can also be repressed whether or not he has renounced sex. Ultimately, what Freud considered healthy was a feeling of self-control -- repression exhibits a lack of self-control due to internal emotional conflict -- indecision, ambivalence.<br /><br />Remember, Freud was writing in the context of two groups who were active in the social discussion. The first group were the prudes, who wanted to bar discussion of sex from public discourse and control how people dressed. The second group were people who felt that men could not control themselves and always needed an outlet for their sexual drives -- and this is why prostitution existed. They were both part of the problem. The prudes helped create repression; but the people who needed to 'let it out' were in fact the repressed ones.<br /><br />Emotionally healthy people, according to Freud, should be able to say no to sex without any consequences.<br /><br /><br />Brian Shapirohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09260038965020343601noreply@blogger.com