No, the title of this post is not “clickbait”. And the fact that when you saw it, the first thought to enter your mind was probably “well, no kidding!” makes you unique in the animal kingdom. No other animal knows that sex makes babies. That is the position of Holly Dunsworth and Anne Buchanan in a paper entitled “Sex Makes Babies” found here at AEON.
The main point of the paper is summarized in this quote
“Animals have sex for a smorgasbord of immediate reasons, including pleasure, yet no species knowingly has sex for procreation except us. So it’s not just our Kama Sutra-ness but it’s also our reproductive consciousness that sets humans apart. Sex isn’t something that just happens to human beings. It’s the fact that we know what can happen when we do it that might be one of the turning points in making humans unique inhabitants of the planet. Because of reproductive consciousness, humans know that they are related to one another: grandparents, parents, siblings and children. And this knowledge – sex equals babies, and babies equals kinship – marks one of the turning points of the history of life.”
So how does this affect humans? Another quote from the article:
“Reproductive consciousness transforms human beings and families into human lineages, inextricably intertwined with other bloodlines, passing along and exchanging genes just like any other animal, but also transmitting immaterial and material culture across and down through the generations, which in turn affects the fates of the genes going forward as well. Understanding that sex makes babies has allowed us to create social norms and expectations about when and with whom we reproduce that biologically driven behavior alone could never have done. But our understanding that sex makes babies has done much more than shape human destiny. It has changed the entire planet through our manipulation of other species to our own ends.”
While the authors do not address religion, I can’t help but wonder how this “reproductive consciousness” formed our religious views on sex, procreation, and morality as a whole.
The fact that sex feels good makes us want to do it, just like animals. But for animals, that is the only reason they do it. Religion has used this to imply that having sex without the possibility of conception makes us no better than an animal. Thus the prohibitions against birth control which until the past 20 years was regularly taught by the Prophets (1), seem to have its roots in the fact that sex is to make babies, and any other reason is bad. It is only a recent development in the LDS church that sex is more than just for making babies, so much so that the latest church handbook says “Married couples should also understand that sexual relations within marriage are divinely approved not only for the purpose of procreation, but also as a way of expressing love and strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife.”
So, what do you make of this theory about humans being the only animal with “Reproductive consciousness”. Do you agree with the authors? If so, does this reinforce the divine nature of humans as co-creators with God, in giving bodies to spirit children?
(1) The Church cannot approve nor condone the measures (birth control) which so greatly limit the family (Teaching of Spencer W. Kimball, 328-29)
When the husband and wife are healthy, and free from inherited weaknesses and diseases that might be transmitted with injury to their offspring, the use of contraceptives is to be condemned. (David o McKay, Conference Report 10/43:30)
Wheat & Tares 
Even though I have never been in the mind of another animal engaged in sex, I agree. It reminds me of some comments made by Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife. She talked about how animals don’t put meaning into sex. Dogs don’t think if a certain position makes their thighs look big. They don’t wonder if it was good for their partner, where they too domineering or too frigid. IT IS JUST SEX.
Also just think how much of what we talk/teach/demonize our youth in the church is directly or indirectly about sex.
Yes, the “Victorian” upbringing of, especially the GAs of the 60’s and 70’s, in reaction to the “free love” message of the culture of those decades, was the underlying source of all the priggish teachings in this regard…much to our detriment.
On a more pedantic note: The proper term is “clickbait,” as in “fish or cut bait” 😉
Yes fbisti, it is clickbait. I fixed it for you!
Can this really be true? Perhaps I’m misunderstanding, but this article seems to imply that humans are the only animals with family ties. But a quick Google search yields this article: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/animal-species-with-strong-family-bonds/
Which asserts that elephants, wolves, and orcas, to name a few, live in groups with strong and sometimes even multi-generational family bonds.
I mean obviously since animals aren’t sentient, they’re not going to look at a relative and think to themselves, “oh hey, that’s my nephew, he sure takes after his weird-looking dad who is my brother” the same way humans might do. But if they live in these loyal, long-lasting, multi-generational groups, doesn’t that probably mean they’re pretty cognizant of their family ties?
I think this article brings up some interesting points and I’m not trying to be argumentative, just sincerely wondering if I’ve heavily misunderstood.
There is a popular myth that “only humans and dolphins have sex for fun” when really the opposite is true. This myth stems from the tendency for many animals to refrain from mating behaviors at times when the females are not fertile. People try to use this as an argument against birth control.
It is unlikely that this behavior relates to a knowledge of reproduction. More likely it is an evolved trait enabling offspring to be born at the optimal time of the year, perhaps to have good nutrition available for as long as possible before their first winter, and enabling parents to avoiding (potentially risky) mating behavior at unproductive times.
Jamp, there’s a difference between knowing who you are related to and consciously choosing who you *want* to be related to. When humans get married, the lineages of the husband and wife become joined in any biological offspring produced. This knowledge becomes important when you consider the significance of kinship systems in human cultures. Think of medieval Europe where a princess of one kingdom is married off to the prince of another. The expectation is that the union of the families will create benefits for both families/kingdoms. Ideally, the resulting child will feel a sense of allegiance to both lines, influencing future political action. Basically, where animals choose mates based on purely biological principles, humans take mate selection to a different level with all the cultural influences playing into why you might choose to join your family with another via marriage (social, economic, political, etc.).
Interesting article. It it is only by DNA testing. judging by afternoon TV shows, that human fathers can be determined.
The flip side of anthropomorphism is anthropocentric
Most cognitive ethologists support that animals are sentient. Many also believe that other species are self aware and have socially transmitted behavior. Further research may reveal the extent of reproductive consciousness.
Considering the social bonds of elephants, perhaps we should consider our divine nature as co-creators with Ganesha.
Or might it be our conscious use of sex within marriage as an act of love, re-affirming our couple bond and consciously desiring to give pleasure?
Pretty evolved I think over the idea that it’s just for making babies, and interesting how changes in society at large help us to re-think what we once thought of as written in stone.
I thought your post was very clear and understandable and a great post. I hope you do more. It helped reaffirm to me that there are something about the universe that are fundamental and all of our anthropomorphizing will never change that. When we try to turn animals into people it says nothing about the animals, it just just reveals something about us.