A Christian Virtue Approach to Compulsive Pornography Use

Over the past few years of my practice as a marriage and family therapist, most of my patients have been those who struggle with compulsive pornography use (CPU). Drawing from my own research and work over the past few years, the aim of the articles in this series is to outline a way of understanding and overcoming CPU, which I have researched, written about, presented on, and used in my own therapy practice. It is an approach amenable to taking both the gospel seriously, especially the doctrine of moral agency, and one that provides some more practical language and ideas for overcoming CPU. I call this a Christian Virtue approach to CPU. It is rooted in what is known as the virtue ethics tradition—drawn from the philosophy of Aristotle and the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas—and the doctrines of the Restored Gospel. I have found it to be a helpful approach for those seeking to heal from CPU.

 Before beginning, there are two things to note. First, this series is not meant to be an extensive and thorough philosophical justification of the Christian Virtue approach to CPU. Several scholars, myself included, have laid the theoretical foundations of this approach and justified its claims by contrasting it to other approaches such as the brain disease or the rational choice approaches to addiction (see e.g., Kent Dunnington’s book Addiction and Virtue). Instead, I wish the series to be a simplified presentation geared towards clear understanding and ease of implementation by readers. Second, the Christian Virtue approach is not meant to replace much of the good work being done by others in the field of addiction recovery. Rather, it is meant to provide a guiding framework enriched by the virtue ethics tradition that helps to organize many of the pre-existing principles and tools for healing from CPU.

 This first article is aimed at describing the core principles that guide the Christian Virtue approach to understanding (1) human nature, (2) human behavior, and (3) CPU in light of its conceptualization of human nature and behavior. The aim of the following articles is to expand on the foundational tenets of the Christian Virtue approach specifically applied to CPU and are geared towards practical implementation.

 Core Principles of Human Nature

I will begin by briefly outlining the Christian Virtue approach to CPU by asserting what the approach takes as 5 core characteristics of human nature that define who we are as persons, showing how they align well with the gospel understanding of personhood.

 Persons Act Purposively Towards Uniquely Human Goals

This is the most fundamental and important principle of the Christian Virtue lens. In line with scripture attesting to the fact that persons are the kinds of beings that act and are not acted upon (2 Ne. 2:14; D&C 93:30-31), this approach assumes all human action is purposeful, and as such, much of human action is qualitatively distinct from the reflexive, instinctual actions of other organisms and the non-agentic, inaction of objects. This is not to say that all human action is intentional and deliberate, but that all human action is guided by or aimed towards bringing to pass some purpose and can be changed to be aimed at other purposes. Additionally, it is presumed that persons have a higher purpose and state of being (i.e., an excellent way of living, a way they “ought” to live) which they can either choose to pursue or reject, and they are tempted and enticed in both directions (2 Ne. 2:16, 27; Mosiah 3:19). Accordingly, persons can have their hearts set on certain purposes such that, over time, they come to love out of habit that which they pursue, whether it be good or evil (D&C 121:35; D&C 50:24; 2 Ne. 26:22). However, because of the possibility of intentional action inherent to their agency, their hearts are capable of being changed and purified through faith, repentance, and the grace of Christ (Alma 36; Mosiah 5:2; Mosiah 28).

Persons Are Reasoning Beings

Persons are endowed with the powers of reason, deliberation, imagination, and many similar powers that allow them to consider on what goals to pursue and how best to pursue them. Put most simply, people do things for particular reasons, such as their choices “make sense” to them and often can be communicated to others. Not all reasons for human action are considered worthy of a flourishing or thriving life. That is to say, some reasons for acting, even if those actions are morally good in themselves, are not good reasons for acting, and one of the challenges of living a virtuous life is learning to act out of good reasons in addition to choosing the right actions.

Persons Are Moral Beings

The previous principles attest to the fact that human nature is inescapably caught up in questions of how persons ought to live, or, in other words, what kind of life is considered a morally worthwhile life to live. So, coupled with the powers of reason, persons are assumed to be morally sensitive to such questions, considering how they ought to live their lives. Moreover, their actions and choices are inescapably morally saturated and salient in an ever-present moral context (2 Ne. 2:11-30). Thus, human agency is properly known as moral agency.

Persons Are Fundamentally Social

Aristotle famously stated that “Man is by nature a social being.” The doctrines of the Restored Gospel attest to this fact by reminding us that we are part of an eternal social reality, an eternal family for whom we have responsibility and with whom we can forge eternal covenants. That is, the Christian Virtue approach assumes that persons are relationally enmeshed with others and God, and we are, in fact, created to be bound with others in eternal bonds of love. Accordingly, it is within the bonds of our eternal sociality where our true identity, purpose, and moral obligations are found. Our eternal sociality creates the context for moral agency, and human social life is where moral agency can flourish.

Persons Seek to Live Out Their Vision of a “Good Life” 

In light of the characteristics of human nature as being purposive, rational, moral, and social, the Christian virtue approach further assumes that, ultimately, all persons exercise such powers to pursue what they see as their vision of the “good life.” In other words, all persons live out what they consider, whether rightly or wrongly, to be a worthwhile life as they seek to answer the question of how they ought to live.

 Now, some people may assume at this point that a Christian Virtue approach holds that, given the facts of moral agency and that persons pursue their vision of what they see as a good life, any vision of the good life is a vision worth pursuing. This would imply that all visions of the good life (i.e., what is the best kind of life) are equal, which would be a form of moral relativism. It is important, however, to reiterate that this is not at all the case. There are some visions of the good life that can be considered a form of living well, and there are others that cannot be so considered. In the Christian Virtue lens, those who are considered to be flourishing or living life well are those persons who live a life in line with the kinds of beings they are (as described above) by (1) pursuing choice-worthy goals (i.e., those in-line with eternal life and fostering that kind of life in mortality), (2) for the right reasons (i.e., love of God and others), and (3) have developed character attributes (see below) the reflect human excellence and allow them to pursue their goals well (i.e., have become Christlike). Thus, a good life is one that is oriented towards good goals, excellence of character, and well-thought-out reasons because to live such a life would be to reflect the best that persons can offer and do, and is in-line with their eternal nature as persons and children of God.

 Virtue, Vice, and Making Sense of Human Behavior

To help us understand this approach even more, we can proceed to explore how the Christian Virtue lens makes sense of any human behavior in light of its assumptions about human nature. First, as stated before, we can start with the understanding that persons, eternally enmeshed in social relationships and endowed as they are with agency, reason, and moral sensitivity, pursue what they see as a vision of a good life. These characteristics can be considered the first, fundamental and true nature of all persons because all are inescapably gifted with them in some fashion and are all called to higher form of living.

 Second, each person’s vision of a good life manifests in their actions, such that their actions tell us the kinds of goals and life they see as worthwhile. Third, to pursue their goals, persons develop certain intellectual and moral character traits that help them to achieve those goals. Over time, those character traits become second nature, or habits, that are just a part of who they are. Habits or character traits that are reflective of human excellence (i.e., aimed towards higher moral purposes) are known as virtues. They represent the best actions that persons can take in pursuit of their goals and can be thought of, in a sense, as traits that reflect a mastery of the powers of agency, reason, social engagement, and moral sensitivity with which persons are endowed. Examples of virtues include courage, temperance, faith, charity, and intentionality. Virtues stand in contrast to vices, which represent morally unworthy habits or actions for persons to pursue. Examples of vices include cowardice, brashness, sensuality, and slothfulness. Such character attributes, and much of human behavior, are considered complex habits that help persons to focus themselves, their actions, and even their very lives on what they see as the best kind of life. They are learned through guidance, feedback, and repeated action and emotional investment. Because they are complex habits, they are difficult to change.

 Fourth, eventually, a coherent narrative and description arises that helps make sense of the kind of person someone is and the goals that they pursue. Meaningful labels, stories, and the like all bring a sense of unity and direction to a person’s life, and many such meanings are shared within particular cultural and social contexts. Brought together, goals, habits, virtues, vices, and life narratives constitute the second, changeable nature of personhood.

 The important takeaway, in sum, is to make sense of any human behavior from a Christian Virtue lens, we would talk about it in terms of persons’ (1) first nature as relationally enmeshed, purposive, rational, moral agents and (2) their second nature consisting of their goals (i.e., visions of the good life), habits, virtues, vices, and life narrative. A great example of all of this is that of a teacher. Notice that when we call someone an excellent teacher, we immediately know that they find education of others to be a key part of their vision of a good life. Furthermore, the word “excellent” tells us that such a person has developed certain character traits endemic to quality teaching, such as patience, being articulate of speech, or other virtues. In short, much of such a person’s life can be understood in terms of their vision, actions, and habits.

 A distinctly Christian Virtue lens, however, would not be complete without being centered on Jesus Christ. Because of Christ, we already have a clear vision of what a good life really is, the kinds of goals we can pursue that God approves, and what kinds of persons we are and really ought to be. Because of Christ, we know that we do not have to change alone; we can rely on Christ and His grace to help us to repent and grow. Because of Christ, we do not need to spend our lives merely trying to use our own understanding about what choices to make; we can listen to the guidance of prophets, read scripture, and seek personal revelation to guide us and inform us in our mortal journey. Ultimately, because of Christ, we do not have to change on our own. As we are willing to repent—to change our vision of what our lives ought to be about and our character in pursuit of a new vision—Christ changes our hearts and our habits such that we become born again in Him.

 Making Sense of Compulsive Pornography Use

With the core assumptions about human nature and human behavior in place, according to the Christian Virtue approach, I can conclude by applying it to making sense of compulsive pornography use, which will then pave the way for a better understanding of how to approach healing and overcoming it to be addressed in proceeding articles. Remember that in this lens we can make sense of any human behavior by talking about it in terms of persons’ two natures, particularly their second nature of goals, habits, and narrative. What this approach suggests, then, is that compulsive pornography use represents a complex habit guiding persons towards a vision of a life in which CPU belongs. That is, a person who struggles with CPU does so because of (1) a slight misunderstanding of who they truly are, including possible incoherence in one’s life narrative, (2) at least a partially misguided vision of what constitutes a good life, or (3) many subtle, complex vices (i.e., habits) that make it so that viewing pornography just belongs in someone’s life, or, as I have observed in therapy, some combination of all three. This approach gives credence to the nomenclature applied to CPU of being a “vicious cycle” because it is caught up in the daily vices and misguided goals that are hard to simply escape because they are so intimately tied in with a person’s daily living.

 Now, so readers do not misunderstand, I do not mean to imply that those who struggle with CPU are terrible people leading overwhelmingly evil lives. Most, if not all people reading this are not terrible and full of vice or purely chasing after “bad” life goals. The assumptions of this approach do not assert that there is just one reason (i.e., cause) that universally explains why persons struggle with CPU (e.g., an overactive sex drive or lack of sexual needs being met), recognizing instead that there are variations as to the visions and vices that can reinforce the role CPU plays in persons’ lives. Accordingly, one strength of this approach is that there is enough flexibility to recognize varying reasons why persons began and continue to view pornography. In other words, it recognizes there are differences in the types of life visions and vices experienced by those who struggle with CPU. This approach thus grants that there gradients to what degree pornography use is entrenched in a person’s life. Nevertheless, this approach offers a stable framework of assumptions that suggest that, at the very least, healing begins by investigating the various ways in which a person’s life is misdirected and into what vicious habits encourage continual pornography viewing.

 Subsequently, and as I will be outlining in the next article, this approach to CPU does presume that there are many subtle ways that we currently understand ourselves and what a fulfilling life is about in our contemporary culture that lead to a way of living in which pornography use fits right into our daily living, reinforced by many taken-for-granted daily habits and activities. In fact, as one author argued and as will be explored in the next article, it is precisely because addictive practices are so subtly ingrained into the everydayness and norms of daily living that it is so pernicious and difficult to overcome.