sexuality, instinct, and sense of smell are connected
this is a bit of a weird random post, sorry.
i'm figuring that there is an inherent connection between people's sense of smell and other topics in life.
we people have, just as other animals, an instinct to guide us through life, that tells us where to go and what to do. i think that this instinct was systematically removed over time, though. there is a significant part of people who say that you shouldn't just do what first comes to your mind, but think about things, and then act. this basically removes or weakens the influence of instinct on people's lifes.
at the same time, instinct largely relies on smell, while rational thinking basically almost doesn't have any access to the sense of smell at all. that is why people who try to be more guided by thinking and less by instinct typically have a less well developed sense of smell.
and i get the feeling that sexuality is heavily driven by instinct as well, there's not much of a good way to think about it rationally. so there should be a correlation as well.
8 replies
Is this unpopular? Smell is hugely important in sexuality. Just look at how much effort is spent changing the way we smell.
well, it's an unconventional way to think, i'd say. especially the claim that people who have a weak sense of smell also have almost no instincts is surely a bold claim.
Oh I didn’t realize that was your claim. I guess that can be unpopular. Smell is probably the least obvious sense but I wouldn’t call the other senses less important to your instincts.
Book recommendation: Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins.
I love how people downvote unpopular opinions posted in this subreddit. Lol, like what's the point?
BTW there is a whole branch of psychology, evolutionary psychology, that examines these issues. However, people don't like to face uncomfortable truths about human nature, even well-documented traits supported by evidence, and as "enlightened" as Lemmy often seems, especially in comparison to reddit, you collect downvotes when you touch a nerve.
For evolutionary psychology that has an evidence base, checkout the BioSocial Model!
You're supposed to down vote opinions that aren't unpopular
thank you