My passion to simplify things, led me to think of a formula for human life; using Greek, which traditionally has been the language of Science, I came up with the idea that human life is the sum of four different elements or dimensions: Eros + Thanatos + Cronos + Logos
Eros & Thanatos - Life Instinct and Death Instinct, affection and aggression, are in Freudian language the positive and the negative poles of human energy.
Cronos - Is the dimension of time; we are spatial and temporal beings; we occupy a space for a duration of time, which corresponds to the years we live.
Logos - Refers to the awareness that we are alive and free to do whatever we want with our lives. In the case of animals and plants, their time and energy are regulated by nature, since they are not aware that they exist they have no power over their existence. Logos is our fundamental option; it is what we decide to do with our lives; to what and to whom we are going to devote all, and each one, of our days.
The energy of human life
Eros & Thanatos are, instincts of life and death, affectivity and aggressiveness, ying and yang, centripetal and centrifugal forces, love and hate, positive and negative poles of the electricity or energy with which we do everything that we do. Without energy nothing works, in society, the same applies to human life.
In human beings all their actions should be inspired and decided by Logos, by reason; but the truth is the instincts, of Eros and Thanatos, not only provide the energy to perform all acts, which reason decides upon, but they also motivate, nurture and direct many other acts which reason seems unable to control. In spite of millions of years of evolution from irrational animalism, our behaviour is still more influenced by instincts than we would like to admit.
All human acts are a mixture of affection and aggression, even the most polarised ones; for example, one would think that the education of a child would be exclusively a matter of affection but, as we all know, a good education should consist of a balance of rewards when the child behaves appropriately and punishments when he doesn’t.
If affection has to do with unconditional love, supporting, nurturing, caressing and praising the child’s achievements, aggression has to do with punishment, discipline, setting limits and regulations, and enforcing them. Too much affection would patronize and spoil the child; too much discipline without affection would impact his self-esteem and eventually make him violent.
Sublimation
In his book, "Civilization and Its Discontents", Freud states that when aggression and affection are unrestrained, that is, left to their own devices, they have an immeasurable potential for destruction; they can destroy what they have helped to build. Human beings abandoned animalism when they won control over these two forces, when they succeeded to tame, or managed to put restraints on them in order to be used in a positive, constructive and cultural way.
The taboo of incest – Throughout the ages this taboo has been acting like a "bridle" on Eros. For the majority of people it has become almost a second nature as they don’t feel sexually attracted to those with whom they have blood ties. But in the beginning it was not like that, it had to be enforced and even today for some. Without this prohibition the inbreeding would in time wipe out the human race.
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" – Belongs to the Hamurabi code of laws, the first that ever existed. It seems very negative the way it is quoted in the scripture and yet throughout the ages it has acted as a bridle for Thanatos because it sets limits and regulates the instinct of aggression and vengeance that tends to escalate and spread uncontrollably leading to destruction as we all know.
Sublimation consists of the substitution, modification or transformation of the natural expression of an impulse or instinct into one that is socially and culturally, more acceptable and constructive. An example of a destructive energy transformed into a constructive energy is the transformation of a bull in bullfights, into an ox that plows the land and pulls a cart.
Looking at things from this perspective, human civilization can be considered as a history of sublimation of Eros and Thanatos, which has been the intelligent use that humanity has made of these forces or basic instincts. In the very same way, our own personal history also consists of the efforts to divert our natural affection and aggression from their natural and primordial target, in order to promote human values.
Chastity as diversion of energy
Now we can better understand the religious vow of chastity; it consists of diverting the natural affection of a man and a woman from its primordial objective, to marry and have children, channeling it towards a more cultural goal. Priests, nuns and religious choose not to have spouse in order to establish a broader fraternity; they choose not to reproduce biologically, and not to have children themselves, with the goal to amplify and extend their fatherhood and motherhood beyond blood ties.
The giving birth of a child, or the contribution of genetic material, makes a person a progenitor, not, per se, a true father or mother. There are authentic parents who are not the progenitors of their children, since they are adopted, and progenitors who are not good parents. True fatherhood or motherhood involves the complete dedication, the gift of self to the children, the continuous and constant following up until they become adults, and also the courage to cut off “the umbilical cord” and give the children their space and freedom, when they eventually become adults. In this respect, no one would deny the motherhood of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, even though she never gave birth to any of her children.
Considering the fact that, over the course of evolution, family ties have had more to do with instincts than with pure affection, we can conclude that a society, in which the social interaction is based solely on family relations, will always be very fragmented and weak. A kinship that extends beyond the limits of blood ties, can be a link or cement that unites families; more specifically, it can help to resolve conflicts that arise between rival families and contribute towards peace and understanding among all, just like the cartilage between bones allows for the smooth articulation of joints, preventing pain that arises when bone touches bone.
To summarize, the natural course of amorous instinct is the formation of a family, where the relationships are based on blood ties. Chastity sublimates, or diverts, the same instinct from its natural goal to give it a cultural goal - the universal fraternity. The love between people who are not related, by blood ties, acts as a unifying element of society.
Marcuse called this, "diffuse eroticism" and Freud called it "an amorous instinct cut off from its primordial objective”, and gives the example of St. Francis of Assisi as the man who best sublimated his Eros energy; the one who got the most benefits out of spreading his eroticism by treating everyone and everything as brothers and sisters: brother sun, sister moon, even addressing his enemies as brother wolf and sister death.
Some would say that this concept of love is not natural. In truth, it is not because it transcends nature, but, in the same sense, human culture or civilization itself is opposed to nature. In fact what is truly natural in Man is not what is given by nature, but what he himself achieves through his creative mind.
Chastity is like a dam
The Love within the vow of chastity can be compared to a dam. The water from lakes and rivers is not useful because it occupies or flows in the lowest part of the land. Unless you have an engine you cannot use that water. When you build a dam you elevate the water and level it with the land so now you can irrigate the fields and transform a desert into an oasis, creating and nourishing an agricultural and rural society; it can also be used to generate electricity, creating and nourishing industrial cities where the urban culture blooms.
It is true that dam represses, and compresses, obstructing water from its natural flow to the sea; that is why its walls have to be strong and concave. On the other hand, within the limits of what is possible, the added value and the benefits we get from the power of water to produce energy, and the use of it for irrigation, fully justify the repression.
Just like the concave walls of a dam, sublimation of Eros requires that the person possesses a strong and robust character, to contain the natural impulse of Eros which is manifested in sexual desire and in natural parenthood, and thus be able to channel his or her energy towards a kinship that is more universal.
The good that is done to others, as the results of this universal fellowship, fills the heart of the chaste person with joy; to realize that others are better off thanks to his or her actions, greatly compensates for the effort and the sacrifice involved in the process of sublimation.
Fr. Jorge Amaro, IMC