Belief versus Knowledge - Report Example

Belief versus Knowledge Among all the thousands of adjectives available, taboo still tags closest to the term “human sexuality” in our time. The ment maybe sweeping but come to think of it, that is the reality. For instance, we are still uncomfortable with our own sexuality. “One would think that with all of the talk about sex, all of the books written about sex, and all of the movies depicting sexuality, we would finally have reached a point in our evolution where we would be as comfortable talking about, and experimenting with, sex as we are talking about food; sharing sexual information as readily as we share recipes. But this is not the case.” (Dreyfus) Indeed, the attitude towards sex has evolved slowly through the years if one took care to read the likes of The Kinsey Report, the Shanor Study and a dozen other works which attempted to chronicle and analyze the intricacies of human sexuality since the time of Sigmund Freud. Our attitude towards sex is influenced by belief and knowledge. And since this paper seek to determine their effects on human psyche; let us distinguish one from the other. Doing so would set the parameters of this essay for these two are closely related. In psychology, belief is a mental representation of a proposition and is formed through our experiences of the world. (Slater & Muir, 1999, p. 231) Experiences count various guides and influences including but not limited to religion and social norms. Slater & Muir explained that a belief could be false if it does not correspond to reality, while if it is true then most assume that it becomes knowledge. There are several gray areas in this particular aspect since not all agree that this is so but we will use belief and knowledge in these contexts. As mentioned beforehand, there are several factors that shape the belief of an individual. There is religion, the collective racial experiences, social norms and several others ranging from the political to economic. Ignorance or Perversion? Let us discuss religion first for this is a most potent force behind the human’s choices as he goes about his daily experiences. People perceive it as the moral authority and, hence, the moral compass to steer them to the right direction. (Nipkow, 2003, p. 5) It almost is synonymous to the right path and goodness itself. Although we cannot fault it in a variety of other things, it seems to fail us in the area of sexuality. For instance, religion consider sexual abstinence as a virtue and admitting to sexual urges instead of suppressing it is tantamount to committing a sin. Religion is responsible for the myth that sex or lust is associated with evil. So when the truth is, while we as humans long to love and be loved, we grow up in a society that makes us feel guilty. Unfortunately, shared assumptions become knowledge and when the society makes up its mind on something, an individual within would assume it for truth. (Slater & Muir, p. 229) What is dangerous about this is that it creates a cloud of ignorance among the populace. True enough, Dreyfus remarked that adults operate on the basis of the teenage notions of sexuality. And what are these notions? Let us cite some examples: Masturbation is bad for you; it can cause many harmful physical, and psychological disorders, like depression, warts, pimples, and insanity. A girl cannot get pregnant the first time she has sexual intercourse. Withdrawing the penis from the vagina prior to ejaculation ("cumming") is an effective contraceptive technique as long as the ejaculate does not come near the vagina. (“Sexual Myths”) These are just some of the disturbing myths which if not checked pose dire consequences in terms of the incidence of pregnancy and disease. Social Pressures Meanwhile, the norms of a society dictate how one should think and to behave that is why there is the existence of culture and race and its shared values. This is highlighted by the fact that there is a willingness in people to accept prevailing opinions and attitudes especially those of the high prestige group (Healey, 2005, p. 16) While people may say that belief is freely chosen, there are times when it is coerced or forced, as illustrated in the form of social pressures. For instance, “besides concern about having a large enough penis, Black men [in the United States] – especially in the lower-income groups – felt social pressures regarding their sexuality. They had to prove their manhood by dominating and sexually fulfilling women.” (Shanor, p. 149) Apparently having a big penis and satisfying his woman is some sort of accomplishment especially for blacks who are discriminated against and fail to climb the white ladder of success. Politically Correct Our belief, which leans too much into being politically correct, muddles much of the reality. For instance, gender difference is more appropriately considered to be a relic of some chauvinistic period in history when women are considered lesser than men. But that is not the case. Research, for example, will prove that “men are, on average, better at mental rotation and mathematical word problems; women are better at remembering locations and at mathematical calculation… Men take greater risks and place a higher premium on status; women are more solicitous to their children.” (Pinker, 2005) With regards to sexuality, it is an acknowledged fact that its dimensions include anatomy, physiology and biochemistry of a sexual response system and, hence, gender plays a significant role. People tend to be accused with sexism when they go against the claim the men and women are indistinguishable. Indeed, there are still academics who maintain that children are born unisex and are molded into male and female roles by their parents. (Pinker) But we must remember that science found that “mens and womens brains vary in numerous ways, including the receptors for sex hormones. Variations in these hormones, especially before birth, can exaggerate or minimize the typical male and female patterns in cognition and personality.” (Pinker) As Dreyfus explained, generally for men the sexual act is often a combination of pleasure, sexual release, and power. For women, sexuality is often intimacy, affection, and pleasure. Just think about the terms men and women use when referring to sex. Male terms tend to be aggressive, even hostile, while female terms are gentle, loving, and even spiritual. Women make love, men get laid.” Myths Lonsway and Fitzgerald cited three characteristics of myths, these are: 1) false beliefs; 2) they explain culture and is highly important; and, 3) existing cultural arrangements that are justified. (Domalewski 2000) Using these characteristics we learn that there are myths that are wrong, there are myths that are justified as well as necessary. False belief permeates in the area of human sexuality for sexual relations are still closeted to very traditional values and the appropriateness of sexual behavior. If we examine how people view rape, we are treated to the false beliefs which are widely and persistently held and that serve to deny and justify male aggression against women. (Crooks & Baur p. 550) For instance, people are inclined to believe that a victim must have done something to bring rape upon her such as the way she dresses. These concepts, which are influenced by the social milieu, is widely accepted and unfortunately continually fail to identify and penalize real rape and encourage its incidence instead. Education is the generally accepted solution to most of our social maladies. This also holds true in the case of the myths and ignorance in human sexuality and the consequences they breed in the process. Sexual education, therefore, is a must so as to avoid the end-results, which are important social issues as of the moment. The stigma of sex as taboo, though completely not irrational, is something we would do better without. As Pinker put it, the mentality of taboo is what gets in the way between the scientific finding and belief, between knowledge and free inquiry and that its psychology is incompatible with the ideal of scholarship. Information would serve as a sort of bridge on these two colliding pillars and perhaps it is not too hard a task to undertake. Belief is not a negative concept per se. In fact, the ability to have faith on something, be loyal to a cause and believe in our group is human nature. Perhaps the solution lay on a review of our traditions opposite the current social milieu. Authorities on institutions such as religion and the media which feed our beliefs and knowledge may very well evaluate which option to take: maintain a hard-line position on existing sexual dogma and risk the consequence of an ignorant populace or play a significant role in promoting an understanding of sexuality as an expression of equality, respect, and love. Bibliography Crooks, Robert, Baur, Karla. Our Sexuality. Thomson Wadsworth, 2004 Domalewski, Sandra. Rape Myth Acceptance: Changing Attitudes through the Use of Popular Movies. Missouri Western State University. 21 Oct 2006 < http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/147.asp?logon=&code=> Dreyfus, Edward. Sexuality and Sex Therapy: Part I. 21 Oct 2006 Healey, Joseph. Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Class. Forge Press. 2005 Nipkow, Karl Ernst. God, Human Nature, and Education for Peace. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 2003 Pinker, Steven. “The Science of Difference.” The New Republic. Feb. 2005. “Sexual Myths”. Sex Info. University of California at Santa Barbara. 20 Oct 2006 Shanor, Karen. The Shanor Study: The Sexual Sensitivity of American Male. Dial Press, 1978. Slater, Alan and Darwin Muir. The Blackwell Reader in Developmental Psychology. Blackwell Publishing, 1999 Read More