Humans too. It's just not the biggest reason anymore necessarily...at least in western culture, IMO.

Yeah but we can understand the whole concept as explained on PBS. We know that kids result and how to enhance or prevent the chances said same.
I don't think the critters do. I wonder if they even grasp that they are reproducing or that's a coincidence?:confused:

As one of my teachers in high school once said: "They don't know what they're doing. And they don't know that they don't know what they're doing."

How true is that? *shrugs* I dunno...I'd say more true for some species than others.

Don't let the Christian Coalition find out.

I believe the Christian Coalition procreates too. After all they like to screw everyone else.;)

Hey, it wasn't so long ago in HUMAN history when we didn't make the connection between screwing and having kids. That was something we had to figure out.

Proof?

Hmmm, I always knew it and according to Syc and Dave, I'm up there with the Bristlecone Pines.:D

Straight Dope entry on mankind figuring out sex=pregnancy
But of course it gets weirder:

All animals have sex in order to pass on their genes and insure the survival of their species. They don't ponder this concept, it is simply "hard-wired" in their brains. This is true for humans as well, but humans have developed the additional use of sex as a means for self-gratification (pleasure).

That makes no sense. What does it mean for it to be "hard wired" into their brain, if not that they ponder the concept? Unless you are saying that nature or evolution has a goal, which it most definitely does not.

Is there any evidence that animals do not also do this? What about bonobos?

Hmm.. interesting speculation. :)

I guess the point I wanted to make was that you can't know what pre-agricultural civilizations knew or didn't know about sex. There's just no record of it.

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Originally posted by LUVBUGZ
All animals have sex in order to pass on their genes and insure the survival of their species. They don't ponder this concept, it is simply "hard-wired" in their brains.
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Originally posted by juju
That makes no sense. What does it mean for it to be "hard wired" into their brain, if not that they ponder the concept? Unless you are saying that nature or evolution has a goal, which it most definitely does not.
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"Hard-wired" is a term almost every biology professor I've ever had used to describe "innate behavior". I would have to go through my biology texts to give you a more precise biological/physiological explaination. The way I understand the rules of Nature is that the basic purpose of a species is to reproduce (pass on its genes in order to insure the survival of the species). Evolution doesn't have a "goal", but rather is the process by which species (and their genes) are able to adapt and survive with everchanging environmental conditions. The ones that have what it takes are able to reproduce, thus passing on the very genes that allowed it to adapt and survive so that its offspring have a greater chance of surviving to continue passing down their genes and so on. This is Natural Selection, which you hear so much about and which is often used by people who don't really understand the concept. They just say "survival of the fittest" which is a correct statement, but many who use it don't know what it is actually describing.


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Originally posted by LUVBUGZ
This is true for humans as well, but humans have developed the additional use of sex as a means for self-gratification (pleasure).
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Originally posted by juju
Is there any evidence that animals do not also do this? What about bonobos?
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I seem to recall some mention of this in my mammology class, but once again I'd have to research it before commenting. I think I remember that some primates do display so called "human" behavior regarding sex as well as "human " emotions such as love, saddness, and jealousy to name a few. I just remember someting like this, but again whould have to do some research to give you hard evidence.

I think what you mean by "hard wired" is that when animals have intercourse, it gives them intense pleasure. Don't you think that this reward mechanism is a pretty strong incentive for doing it? If not, why has the pleasure reward even evolved? Surely a species that is hard wired to have sex for the purposes of propogating its DNA would need no pleasure incentive at all. They'd do it just for the reason you say they do it. <i>[edit: and of course, if what you say is true, then they wouldn't hump our legs.]</i>

Also, although I know exactly what you mean, I don't think that species or Nature have a "purpose". I realize it's just a poorly chosen word, though.

You also never responded to my questions from 8/26. How do you know that animals would agree with you that being "less likely to bite, fight with other dogs, wander, chase cars, bark excessively, display too much aggressiveness, and screw your leg" are bad things? And also, could you elaborate on how the world would be a better place if some human males were neutered?

Hardwired is the term Profs use for raging hormones.

The dog humping your leg has nothing to do with sex. It's a dominance issue.
:cool: