Not far back in this blog, I put forward some concepts which I called "primary tenets". These were essentially aims or imperatives advocated by the School of Desire (School of Desire: Primary Tenets, School of Desire: Primary Tenets, The Third Tenet). The second tenet was stated as "mutual pleasure". On further reflection of this primary tenant, I contemplated the role and importance of consent, and also a third element which comes into play. This seemed to form a triad which I thought was worth discussing and developing as a framework of sorts. I am calling it the Pleasure Triad.
Pleasure, as a pursuit by itself, is not always looked upon in a positive light. I placed pleasure as one of the three primary tenets of The School of Desire. I qualified it as mutual pleasure, which softens it a little bit from a self-pleasure seeking modus operandi, ensuring that the pleasure of the other (or others) is given equal or greater importance. It was also discussed along with what I called parameters, which includes consent and also adhering to ethical and moral principles.
This was somewhat, but not totally, an effort to distance a pleasure tenet from a pleasure-only or pleasure-at-all costs type of philosophy, such as hedonism or libertinism. Both of these philosophies seem to leave parameters of morality or conscience at the door for the prerogative of pleasure.
The other two tenets of the School of Desire, "sexual and emotional satisfaction and fulfilment" and "honouring desire" can actually be encompassed under a banner of "pleasure". Therefore, the primary tenets might be shifted in order to be as follows:
- The pursuit of mutual pleasure
- Sexual and emotional fulfilment and satisfaction
- The honouring of desire
Giving pleasure this prominence in the tenets may seem to espouse more of a hedonism or libertine attitude. However, if we consider pleasure in this triad I am about to discuss, then it may be more palatable in a modern context and still maintain a distance from philosophies that promote pleasure without regard to morality or ethical standards.
Consent has become a catchword when it comes to sex, both in traditional sex education spheres and the new sex-positive movement. But it is often spoken of with an overarching importance, without any regard or mention of pleasure. There is much to say about consent. It is an expansive topic, and I may take it up in more detail in a later post. Here we will put it alongside pleasure as the second corner of the triad. It does not override pleasure in importance. If anything, pleasure is the senior element, but consent is inalienable in the triad.
The third element of the triad I designate as trust. On first contemplation, I thought that perhaps trust is not expansive enough on its own and is somewhat implicit in the element of consent. Pleasure and consent are both active concepts, in that both of them involve actions and things which are done to actively establish, maintain and promote them.
Trust didn't immediately seem to have this active aspect, but is rather passive, having the characteristic of something that develops on its own accord. However, thinking about what factors and what things help establish, build and maintain trust opens it up into quite an extensive element that is active.
This might be tied to consent, seeking to know the boundaries of consent and abiding by them would be conducive of trust. But it also would include elements of safety, privacy and discretion, which may not be covered by consent, per se.
So the Pleasure Triad, in this first inception consists of pleasure, consent and trust. As a triad, rather than representing it as I a triangle, I prefer to think of it as an arrow or spearhead. Pleasure would be the point of the arrowhead, being the leading principle, with consent and trust as the balance points on either side.
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