Noble Lecture Focuses on Love and Sexuality

"Sex, Love, and Joy: Contrasting Perspectives" was the topic of discussion in the 100th Annual William Belden Noble Lecture series last night. Lecturer Armand M. Nicholi and respondent Joseph B. Martin dealt with the conflicting views of Sigmund Freud's materialism and C.S. Lewis's spirituality in relation to the lecture topic.

Martin, dean of Harvard Medical School (HMS), gave an example of Freud's materialist view when he described the four natural human drives as the four "F's," "feeding, fighting, fleeing and sex."

Surprisingly, despite their differing world views, Freud and Lewis shared similar ideas about sexuality, Nicholi said.

"Freud equates happiness with pleasure, primarily instinctual or sexual pleasure," said Nicholi, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at HMS and at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"Lewis agreed with Freud that there's nothing forbidden or sinful about sexuality [and] that most people find [monogamy or abstinence] extremely difficult," he said.

Martin expanded on this view of sexuality by explaining the biology of sex.

"In the Darwinian world, sex, love and happiness come down to sex," Martin said. "Monogamy is disadvantageous [to survival] in most situations."

In spite of biology, both Freud and Lewis maintained strictly monogamous relationships throughout their lives, Nicholi pointed out.

However, the differing world views of Freud and Lewis came through when Nicholi's lecture turned to the issue of love in religion.

"We will focus on one form of love-'thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,'" Nicholi said. "Freud says this commandment, along with love for thy enemy, bewilders him."

"Lewis agrees with Freud that this precept runs counter to the original nature of man," Nicholi said.

However, Lewis emphasized the importance of "agape" love. "Agape" is the Greek word for love in the commandment to love thy neighbor used in the Bible. It deals with love involving will, not romantic love or love between friends. "As a clinician, I have discovered that `agape' is key to all relationships," Nicholi said.

Nicholi said the concept of `agape' love is concerned with people considering their neighbor's interests as they would consider their own interests.

"If `agape' determined how we related to others, we could save ourselves and others a lot of pain," Nicholi said.

Martin also expressed the importance of "agape" love when he explained the importance of the Christian perspective in relation to sex, love and happiness. "As a Christian, our sexual mores evolve from the golden rule [expressed through monogamy]. Agape love is the basis of the two great commandments," he said.

The notion of happiness was the third component of the lecture. Based on their personal experiences, Freud and Lewis encountered very different levels of happiness in their lives.

"The only sustained pleasure in Freud's life was his intellectual work," Nicholi said. But after Lewis converted to a spiritual world view, he was described by biographers as "a very personable outgoing extrovert," Nicholi said.

"Freud ultimately came to the conclusion that `the intention that man be happy was [not included] in the plan of creation,'" he said.

Nicholi has seen this view of happiness in his own work. "I've noticed clinically that what most people look forward to never turns out to be quite what they expected," he said.

Nicholi quoted Lewis to give the Christian perspective on this issue, which is a part of a stated goal of the lecture series. The quote displays Lewis's reason for the transient quality of happiness: "The Creator refreshes the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not allow us to mistake them as our own."