...In the excerpt “What’s Wrong with Adultery?” by Bonnie Steinbock (“Adultery” 1886), Steinbock explains valid arguments for why we morally disapprove of adultery, but questions if adultery is wrong. Although adultery is not comparable to theft or murder it's illegal in some states, but rarely prosecuted because it is a private matter. Our view of adultery is shaped through our thoughts about love, marriage, and fidelity. Steinbock claims adultery breaks trust and creates deception, but also argues that open marriages have no deception since sexual fidelity is not promised. Steinbock agrees in some cases adultery can be morally acceptable. Essay 1 “What’s wrong with adultery?” by Bonnie Steinbock explores the immorality of adultery in a changing modern world. Steinbock agrees adultery violates trust and creates deception, but also validates open marriages as being an exception. Steinbock concludes you may accept or deny adultery and decide what is moral to you in your life. Morals are a set of...
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...The price of adultery The Indian law on adultery, drafted more than a century ago, makes it a punishable offence for men alone. The recent proposal to punish women too has generated much debate. Shoma A. Chatterjilooks at the archaic law in the light of changing social mores HOW fair is the National Commission for Women’s (NCW) stand against the Union Government’s attempt to amend Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code regarding the reversegender bias contained in the country’s age-old law on adultery? It is proposed to include women within the purview of Section 497 as against its present rules that expressly state that a married woman cannot be punished even as an abettor in a case of adultery. Whether the woman is a victim of adultery or is herself an adulteress, she is completely free of being penalised for her misdemeanour. Should this bias continue into 2007? The question is a tough one to answer. The bonds of marriage have a religious, social and legal sanction in India. Thus, any sexual liaison that defies this bond spells noncompliance with social norms. It is a violation of the sacred marriage vows religiously and morally held to be sacrosanct and is punishable under the laws of Illustration by Aditi Chahar the land. Bigamy for all non-Muslims is a crime vide Section 494 of the IPC. Why should women remain immune to the law today? What is adultery Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) defines "adultery" thus: "Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person...
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...controversial essay justifying adultery under some circumstances. The essay begins by giving statistical data on a Case study of infidelity that found out that forty percent of wives had been infidels in their marriage. The study suggests that just like men in a marriage institution, women are also catching up with adultery. She claims that the rise in female adultery can be attributed to the recent changes in their attitude towards sex as well as sexuality because the guilt of enjoying sex in our conscience no longer exists and if often regarded as mental health. The author argues that if sex is not shameful anymore then condemning infidelity is giving lip service and does not hold water to the ancient taboo. The author argues that adultery is not globally forbidden and gives an example of the traditional culture Eskimo where sharing your wife with a guest, or a visitor is an act of courtesy. She says that expectation of exclusivity of sex in marriage is what brings up bad emotions such as possessiveness and jealousy. In an institution of marriage, every partner can enjoy several activities such as traveling apart, and having separate friend hence the partners should also avoid drawing lines when it comes to sexual activity. The author says that the couples should separate sex from love and consider it as an activity for pleasure. She argues that during the time of marriage, many couples find new lovers and fall out of love in their marriages with their spouses. The author...
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...Ethical Dilemma-Adultery My conclusion is that adultery is unethical. In the following rational argument, I will support why adultery is unethical. The term adultery is defined as voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man or woman and a partner other than the legal spouse (Collins English Dictionary, Dictionary.com). What makes adultery unethical is that it involves the breaking of a promise. One of the vows two parties promise each other when they get married is that they will abstain from sexual relationships with other people. Because of this promise both spouses have the expectation that the other will behave in conformity with it. Thus, when one of the parties has sexual intercourse with a third person he or she breaks that promise about sexual relationships which was made when the marriage was entered into, and defeats the expectations of exclusivity by the spouse. The breaking of this promise leads to the intentional infliction of substantial pain by one spouse to another. The immorality of such things as breaking a promise and deceiving someone and the action of adultery is, in a strong sense of prima facie, wrong or unjustified. According to Raja Halwani, in his book titled Sex and Ethics: Essays on sexuality, virtue and the good life, the unique wrongness of adultery results from adultery being an assault on a person’s self-conception and self-worth as a human being emotionally, sexually and erotically. It is rational to want to sustain...
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...In the article “What’s Wrong With Adultery?” by Professor Bonnie Steinbock, she lays out her views about infidelity in marriage, and backs them up with many solid reasons and arguments. I appreciate the way she writes and presents her position, because she writes in a way where she, in a senes, argues for both sides. I did not even fully understand her opinion until the last couple of pages. She seems very open to different views, and even open to considering changing her own views. After examining and arguing for both sides, Steinbock’s final view on adultery is that, if there ceases to be love in the marriage or if the spouses both agree it is okay to see other people, it is okay and even morally acceptable. Overall, adultery is acceptable for Steinbock. Even though I may not agree with Steinbock on some things, I think her arguments and her logic behind her reasoning are very sound. However, like stated above, her views are not concrete and she has some exceptions and other points she makes as well. She thinks there are very good reasons why adultery is frowned upon and seriously immoral, because of promise breaking and deception, and that infidelity is intolerable and destructive in...
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...Adultery is a nearly universal concern. It is defined by Judaic, Christian, and Muslim formulations, and in legal codes deriving from Roman law. Known colloquially as cheating or infidelity, adultery is more complex than simple faithlessness and is not to be confused with fornication, or sex between two unmarried people. In its simplest definition, adultery occurs when a married person has sex with someone other than his or her spouse. Marriage is requisite, on the one hand, for an action to be called adultery. On the other hand, the cheating couple also must not be married to one another; otherwise the situation is not adultery but bigamy or polygamy, even in jurisdictions where such is proscribed. It is sometimes the case that spouses agree beforehand that one or both spouses will seek sexual pleasure outside their marriages, a situation that has been called open marriage. Regardless of the level of consent or of participation by the offended spouse, most legal and religious authorities still consider such activity to be adulterous. Simple definitions aside, whether a particular act can be called adultery depends very much on historical, legal, and cultural contexts. That is, what qualifies as adultery in one jurisdiction would not in another, or even in the same jurisdiction in another era. In some definitions, both ''cheating'' partners are adulterers if either of them is married, and each is to be treated similarly. In practice, one partner--usually the woman--is often...
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...Emily Dillon Adultery Draft In most cases the act of committing adultery is most often viewed as immoral and highly unethical but others may see this act of cheating as justifiable in certain cases. Adultery is being unfaithful and dishonest in a marriage, but people continuously do it. There is typically a compelling reason as to why a person would cheat on their spouse depending on their situation. Although these reasons do not always justify adultery or breaking the law, in some cases the consequences of cheating can be seen to be positive giving it a sense of justification. The reasoning behind infidelity can give a person the idea that adultery can be justified. People may commit adultery for different reasons; they could be due to a loss of love or dullness in their marriage or to peruse personal happiness and or emotional fulfillment which expresses a person’s secret passionate desires in which the case can justify infidelity. Adultery is about a person that is acting out of discontentment with their failing marriage and is committed by people who lack the comfort of marital faithfulness and intimacy. Although cheating is wrong in most situations the story of Dmitry Gurov, in “The Lady with the Pet Dog” by Anton Chekhov, displays a male point of view of committing adultery offering a glimpse of why adulterers choose to be unfaithful. The loss of love between Gurov and his wife reveals the need to search for a further intimacy which he obtains during an affair....
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...Marriage, Sex and Adultery in the !Kung Janvi Patel HSP 3U7-02 Friday May 7, 2013 Marjorie Shostak’s ethnography, “Nisa -The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman”, delivers remarkable information on the !Kung tribe of hunters and gatherers from Southern Africa’s Kalahari Desert. This ethnography combines an etic perspective from Shostak as she observes this tribe, and an emic perspective from Nisa, who describes her life as a !Kung woman. Shostak provides thorough information on the !Kung’s hunting and gathering lifestyle where both sexes are seen as economic providers because of their involvement and commitment in hunting and gathering. As a result, rights and privileges are almost shared equally amongst !Kung men and women, similar to that of the Canadian society. In this paper, I will investigate these striking similarities between the !Kung society and the Canadian society in terms of marriage, sexuality, and romance considering the aspects of multiple marriages and divorces, sex and adultery that exist in both cultures. In the !Kung society, first marriages are arranged by the parents. At this time, females are usually sixteen to seventeen years of age, whereas males are twenty to thirty. This is because males are only eligible for marriage if they have acquired the ability to hunt. These marriages are called “trial marriages.” In these marriages, divorces are quite common and are initiated by the young females due to pressure from their husbands to commence sexual activities...
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...Saturday, June 16, 2007 Concubinage Meaning: Commonly refers to a relationship between a man (usually of higher social status) and a woman, where the man has an “official” wife, and possibly more than one concubine. Concubines had limited rights though any children are acknowledged, though their status is second to that of children born unto the “official” wife. Concubinage was usually an “exclusive” arrangement between two parties. Biblical: With the tolerance of polygamy, a concubine was only defined in terms of her disparity in position or rank with the principal wife. A legitimate spouse, of an inferior social grade or a bondwoman, is often given the appellation of concubine. This term did not invalidate her marriage, it did, however, indicate that she was not equal to her husband in rank, nor did she share in her husband’s property or in the administration of his household. From Genesis 21:9-14, we see that the dismissal of a concubine and of her children was permissible. Ancient Greece: Concubines were permitted in ancient Greece and their children were legitimate if recognized by their fathers. Roman Empire: A concubine was recognized by law in the absence of a legal wife. She was usually from a lower social rank than her husband, and her children, though not considered the equals of those of the legal wife (uxor) were nevertheless termed natural (naturales) to distinguish them from spurious offsprings (spurii). The father of these children was required...
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...Divorce What is marriage? Marriage is an institution whereby men and women are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family. This means that a couple should stay together to create and maintain a family life. However some couples are unable to maintain or keep their relationship, this could lead to separation or even divorce. Different religions teach different things about divorce, in this essay I will be talking about the different religions and what they teach. Christians don’t agree with divorce, they think that a couple, once married should spend the rest of their lives together because they made a vow in front of their God. When a couple gets married in a church they make a vow before God “till death do us part.”This is means the couple agree to live together for the rest of their lives no matter what happens. Christianity also teaches that marriage is a covenant agreement, meant for life, therefore it must not be broken under any circumstance; remarriage further violates the covenant and therefore is not permissible. Even though Christians believe that divorce is not what God wants and should be avoided, some Christians cannot cope with marriage, so they divorce. They may not be able to cope because their partner may not be part of the same faith or the one of the couple has committed adultery. In some situations even though divorce is not God's desire, is sometimes the only alternative when all else...
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...Running Head: ADULTERY AND WHY IT MATTERS ENGL126-Sound Writing Skills Instructor: x Final Author May 09, 2011 The gimmick filled reality television and high-speed internet has spun us for a loop and left people so dizzy, they have forgotten which way is up. In an article from Time, Caitlin Flanagan explains why marriage matters and Olivia Stren from Flare discusses why women are optimistic about being given the opportunity to have an affair. As if it is now fashionable to cheat on your wife or husband, adultery has become a socially accepted “norm” as a result of changing demographics and its prevalent nature. This moral regression will leave our society scarred if left unchecked. Adultery cannot be dissected and understood without first understanding the institution of marriage and what it stands for. Let us forgo the typical, contract idea, “in sickness and in health” and the whole “love” thing and settle with the belief, for this argument, that marriages are the beginning of a new generation. Marriage is intended to raise the children, to protect, and instill in that new generation the teachings we want them to take into the future to make our world the best it can be (Flanagan, 2009). With that said, what is marriage as it stands today? If children are watching the moral fabric of society, one of the oldest traditions in the history of our people, melt away and be replaced with selfishness and depression? We are creating the ultimate “Me-Generation” who...
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...According to the general definition, divorce refers to a process of legally dissolving a marriage. The concept of divorce did not exist under Hindu law as the marriage is considered to be a sacred relationship. However, the concept of Divorce was introduced when a law to this effect was codified and presently section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act provides for dissolution of marriage. Mozley and Whitley define divorce, in their 1967 law book: "Divorce (is) the termination of a marriage otherwise than by death or annulment ." As Justice Gray of the Supreme Court of the United States of America wrote in Atherton case: "The purpose and effect of a decree of divorce from the bond of matrimony, by a court of competent jurisdiction, are to change the existing status or domestic relation of husband and wife, and to free them both from the bond. The marriage tie, when thus severed as to one party, ceases to bind either. A husband without a wife, or a wife without a husband, is unknown to the law ." Theories of divorce: - a) Fault theory: - under this theory marriage can be dissolved only when one of the parties to the marriage has committed a matrimonial offence. In this theory it is necessary to have one innocent party and one guilty party. If both the parties are guilty, then no remedy available...
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...symbolism and her use of vivid imagery she is able to convey the themes of adultery, marriage, and new life in her characters. Her use of imagery and the symbolic meaning of the storm strongly convey her personal feelings on each of these themes. The first major theme in the story is adultery, which is represented by two of the main characters in her story, Calixta and Alcee. The story depicts them as having an old flame from years before the storm that brought them together again. The storm drives Alcee to take shelter in Calixta’s house, which leads to adulterous actions by both of them. In the story they passionately make love while Calixta’s husband and son are lost in the storm. In part II of the story, Calixta is shown sitting at home completely unaware of the storm’s approach. This scene can be seen as symbolic of her also being oblivious to the adulterous events that are coming in her very near future. It can also be seen as Calixta having no prior intentions to commit adultery in the story. Chopin uses her mastery of imagery at the climax of the storm to lustfully describe Calixta’s features to the reader to intensify the moment and her adulterous deed. Chopin writes, “Her lips were as red and moist as pomegranate seed. Her white neck and a glimpse of her full, firm bosom disturbed him powerfully. As she glanced up at him with desire” (Chopin 109). Chopin vividly describes their act of adultery at the climax of the storm, mirroring their actions with nature. The heat...
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...Sex, Sin and Marriage by Staff Forerunner, "Ready Answer," September-October 1997 Topics * Adultery * Fornication * Homosexuality * Infidelity * Infidelity to God * Marriage * Movies * More... Adultery, fornication and other forms of sexual immorality have been in the news a lot lately. The military in particular is undergoing a top-to-bottom review of its sexual policies because of various misdeeds of its officers and troops. From the lowest to the highest offices in the land, marital infidelity and sexual improprieties are the buzzwords. Tabloids scream the latest "love triangle" discovered. Magazines contest each other to picture the cover girl with the least covering. Headlines tease readers with articles about sex. Within their pages sex sins of every stripe come out of the closet. Whether its movies, the Internet, bars, parties, homosexual activities, parades or whatever, sex is the vehicle that attracts interest. It has even encroached into children's cartoons, books, magazines and videos! "Living in sin" is now par for the course. People refer, not to husbands or wives, but to "significant others." They speak of "satellite relationships" rather than affairs. Perversions have been downgraded to "personal sexual expressions." What was once shameful is now acceptable. Why is sex promoted so extensively? Because sin is pleasurable, and sex sins are particularly so. Moses chose to forego the "passing pleasures of sin" (Hebrews 11:25) for a greater ultimate...
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...Gray THEO 202-D27 Marriage Marriage is a holy covenant before God. On the other hand divorce is something today that is looked at by many people and even some in the church as acceptable. In today’s day and age there are people splitting their marriages and getting divorces left and right for all different kinds of reasons. My friends, Tom and Jane Wolf, who I have known for many years have been married for what is going on five years now, and they are running into many issues in their marriage that could possibly lead them down this road, of divorce. Tom and Jane have been going to the same church as me for quite some time, and they know that I am studying to become a Pastor so they have asked me for advice and wisdom from God’s Word on the topic of a Godly marriage and what the Bible says about divorce. I have been encouraging Tom and Jane to work through these struggles, and to hold fast to the Word of God in this time of doubt and uncertainty. In Genesis 2:24 we see the first mention of marriage. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” God designed for marriage to be between a man and a woman who love one another and become one through their commitment to Him and to each other. In Elwell’s book he states, “Marriage is an exclusive relationship. The total unity of persons-physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually, -comprehended by the concept, “one flesh.”’ Marriage is to last a lifetime...
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