Abstract
This article is about Eroticism as a key-concept in the psychological understanding of the human mind. The meaning of the term can be defined as follows: Eroticism is the way humans experience sexuality as a self-sufficient mental activity. Sexuality underlies different social rules in varying cultural contexts and may lead to different ways of thinking, but there is no evidence that cultural diversity actually leads to fundamentally different ways of feeling. The constant disposition for recreational rather than procreational sex makes eroticism a medium of human creativity. In this sense, eroticism is considered a central factor in the process of hominisation. The crucial cognitive competence which makes for the uniqueness of our species is due to the transformation of sexuality into eroticism and its disposition for social learning. In the animal kingdom, sex contributes to the welfare of the horde, while in human society eroticism contributes to individual self-recognition and paves the way to moral awareness. Methodologically, I plead for a cooperation of psychological and anthropological research, each utilizing and combining the complementary aspects of both approaches.
Highlights
The question of “What makes us human?” has found several answers from evolutionary anthropologists (Calcagno & Fuentes, 2012)
My thesis is a different one: In emotional life there is a difference in kind, with regard to sexuality—that in humans has become eroticism
From the point of the biologist, eroticism seems to apply to present-day societies, whereas humans evolved under much different conditions
Summary
The question of “What makes us human?” has found several answers from evolutionary anthropologists (Calcagno & Fuentes, 2012). The answers refer to anatomy (upright gait), to behavior patterns (child-rearing), and to mental attitudes (explorative curiosity). In relation to subjective experience, the answers remain vague. Recent research has demonstrated that non-human primates show much more complex emotions than previously considered. Some primatologists, such as Frans de Waal, conclude that between animal and human emotions and motivations, there is only a difference of degree (de Waal, 2011). My thesis is a different one: In emotional life there is a difference in kind, with regard to sexuality—that in humans has become eroticism.
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