- Marital Affairs From A Consequentialist's Point Of View: An Analysis

Modern, contemporary society’s mindset on marriage has shifted considerably over the years. Some research has noted the increase in early sexual experiences, greater acceptance of cohabitation and the increase in narcissistic tendencies, are complicating and muddying the ideals of what marriage means to people today. Research done on this subject resulted in several studies that found that spouses who did not believe that marriage would last forever, were less likely to commit to the relationship financially and were more likely to have extramarital affairs.

Conversely, most people perceive marriage as a sanctuary, satisfying the needs of both partners involved. It is one of the most important institutions affecting people’s health and well-being. Firstly, a strong marriage has a dramatic effect on the partners’

This element serves as a conflict device for many lovers who are pure of heart but separated by one’s prior vows to someone who doesn’t have the capacity for true love and in romance, this device allows protagonists to overcome obstacles in the form of a spouse. Love serves as the spark that causes the desire to be free of one’s own uncaring or loathsome spouse to become something tangible and action-worthy for characters. In certain instances however, infidelity is also a device which allows for impure or devious characters to receive their just punishment sufficiently. Infidelity in situations where there is a satisfactory marriage where there is true care for a spouse, adultery becomes something that can instead be punished in the name of nobility and

     In society, many spouses or fiancées have fantasized about having sexual relations with another man or woman. These people have probably questioned their faithfulness to their ?better half? if they have succumbed to such temptation. However, so long as these thoughts do not become actions, they can not be judged as morally wrong. As

Marriage has been an important aspect of life for thousands of years. While the world has not always married people formally, the link between a wife, her husband, and both their families has been a significant part of history; however, things change. Many women cheat and have children that are not their husbands’. It has been a problem since Mesopotamian society; at least, that is as far back as society can trace it. Ancient societies started making laws against the adultery of a woman and punished them for cheating. While the laws have disappeared, adultery has still continued through history. Both the “The Demon Lover” by Elizabeth Bowen and the Scottish ballad “The Daemon Lover” deliver messages in order to warn women to stay faithful to their partners, no matter the circumstances.

Through this conflict, the world has and will continue to evolve into the modern community that we already have begun to live in today. This information is prevalent within the short story “Marriage is a Private Affair.” Although marriage has evolved a great amount in the past into what we know it as today, there are still civilizations that have stuck to their traditional beliefs and are looking to begin their own crusade as to what marriage beliefs should consist

Consequentialism refers to the idea that what is morally good or bad is all based on the consequences of one’s actions. It is derived from the Theory of Right Action which is a part of

Adultery defined as a sex relationship between a married woman and a man other than her spouse or a sex relationship that usually happened also between unmarried couples in their relationship. It is actually the same as stated in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary; adultery is a sex between a married person and someone who is not their husband or wife (18). Indeed, Adultery sometimes becomes something crucial in our society. As an addition, in certain societies or cultures, it considered as an illegal relationship or we can say forbidden against norm or belief in societies or cultures itself.

This scenario helps to prove the claims of act consequentialism, because it takes into account both moral rules, and also the consequences of actions, and it allows for the rightness or wrongness of action to change as the situation

Due to the Sexual Revolution in the 1960s, sex has been redefined allowing for cultural acceptance of societal phenomena such as the Hookup Culture, pre-marital sex, and cohabitation. Redefining sexual relationships has aided in the fundamental distortion of human sexuality and sexual relationships, causing the institution of marriage to be affected. Marriage has transitioned in the minds of contemporary culture from a covenant made between two people as reflection of “Christ’s self-offering to the Church” to “a mere ceremony – a ritual devoid of efficacy” (Grabowski, 117). This change in marriage has allowed the practice of cohabitation to increase. This increase occurred as individuals came to view marriage only as a capstone to their relationship,

The definition of marriage elicits a wide variety of connotations, which make it difficult to define what types of marriages should be recognized in the legal context. In this paper, I will discuss the moral argument of sexual morality in relation to marriage rights. Specifically, the collective right of polyamorous relationships to be recognized under the notion of the “fundamental right to marry,” as addressed by William Baude, in the New York Times. Although there are objections in relation to polyamorous marriages, as is discussed in relation to the fundamental right to marry, I defend the argument for polyamorous marriage.

Mabbott, a philosopher who published a book about punishment, argued that in the new rules paradigm the governing distinction should be between a practice or an institution or a rule and an occasion of applying that rule (Martin, 2008). Mabbott explained that rules or the practice itself is justified on utilitarian grounds. Mabbott stated, “Rules are justified by the good results which would follow if they were generally obeyed,” (Martin, 2008). The general adoption of and conformity of the rule in question would do more good, then would the omission of the rule and of the conduct conforming to it, and it would do more good than would the deployment of an alternative rule (Martin, 2008). John Rawls has similar viewpoints except he regards the relevant rules as constitutive and thereby gives the particular activity its structure (Martin, 2008). In both Rawls and Mabbotts accounts of rule utilitarianism, they describe the main parameters of a rule, an institution, or a kind of activity. They also state that the rules can be assessed by considering whether they would be beneficial on the whole, if conduct generally conformed to them, as measured against a situation in which that rule was omitted altogether or another rule was substituted in its place (Martin, 2008). Mabbott and Rawls both asserted that once a rule is established, as justified, one is to conform to it; further appeal to general utilitarian considerations in individual applications on particular occasions and Mabbott believes it is than surrendered while Rawls believes it is no longer open (Martin,

Set in 1962 in England we are introduced to a couple who have recently exchanged vows and I dos. “This was still the era – it would end later in that famous decade – when to be young was a social encumbrance, a mark of irrelevance, a faintly embarrassing condition for which marriage was the beginning of the cure” (7). Throughout the book, marriage is associated with freedom. This freedom might a subtle way of discovering one’s sexual freedom. In the book, it hints that most people are not having sex before marriage. Yet there were instances in which sex did happen out of marriage, but the man got the woman pregnant and then he was “dragged to the altar.” So, a stage is set up where people should not have sex unless married. Edward acknowledges this societal rule, which

Marriage declares a legal and socially recognized monogamous relationship between two individuals that is binding for the duration of their life together. While the expectation for marriage is that the spouse will remain faithful to only their partner, relationships (whether romantic or sexual) which develop outside the bounds of marriage constitutes infidelity and are actually not uncommon. Extramarital affairs are not considered illegal in Australia, but the actions of the infidel spouse often has detrimental impacts on the relationships and wellbeing of those around them, while also causing moral problems for society. Marital relationships and occurrences of

Many persons respected as champions of marriage such as John Ensign, republican stated his feelings on the sanctity of the marital relationship so greatly that it is “in my mind, worth the extraordinary step of amending our Constitution.” (Miller) This person making such a statement about morality of the marriage commitment shortly after was begging forgiveness due to an adulterous relationship, thus bringing into question the flawed morality, in addition to, the ethical consequences.