Clean living requires an act of the will, and acts of the
will require a changed mindset — at least if they are going to stick for
any length of time. Down through the centuries, men and women who sought to control
their natural appetites have attempted to “live clean” with different goals in
view.
Plato taught the suppression of fleshly desires in order to
free the soul to search for knowledge. The Stoics disciplined themselves to manage their emotions in order to uphold
what they believed was the essential dignity of human nature. Kant advocated moral asceticism in hope of cultivating virtue. Monks of various religious orders idealized
poverty, fasting and celibacy as ways of expressing devotion to their gods.
