To me, monogamy goes far beyond not leaving the wife alone with the children or anything to do with raising a family. Instead, monogamy is the result of the human mind and the human psychology. People have basic desires for happiness and satisfaction. But more importantly, people have the ability to empathize with each other; to understand the results that their actions have on other people. Because of their desire for happiness and satisfaction, people experience an emotional reaction to everything physical and everything said or experienced. The emotional reaction is also physiological and makes people want to come back to what makes them happy; In this way, a connection can be developed between two people who are happy around each other. Yet the counterargument to this seems to be why can’t people be happy with more than one other person or partner. It seems that the reason people place esteem with the idea of monogamy is based around two basic ideas. The first idea being that people are by nature selfish and they therefore want the person that makes them happy all to themselves. They assume everyone else will experience the same feelings of pleasure around that person and they therefore do not want to let that person become attached to someone else. The second idea is that although people are by nature selfish, they empathize with their partner, and therefore they know that because they do not want their partner to mingle with other people, they should also not mingle with other people. Though this seems paradoxical, it could be said that the second idea is still based on a sort of selfish drive; they are in fact only being monogamous because they want their partner to be monogamous, not because they have a morally high stance.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Monogamy
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I really liked your closing thoughts that people are monogamous despite their inclination to be more promiscuous only because they want their partner to be monogamous as well.
ReplyDeleteYour argument seems to lean towards more of a biological approach than a social approach, so I would challenge you to expand it a bit more. Consider that in nature, most mammals mate with as many other individuals as possible, but that this is highly frowned upon in our culture. Aside from individual psychology, to what degree is monogamy related to a greater social structure?
I really enjoyed the outlook you took on this blog prompt. You went with a psychological approach that Kate challenged a bit. I think you're on to something in the last sentence. I don't know if it is because they are selfish that they don't want their partner mingling with others more so than egocentrism. I think it is something that has become ingrained in our thoughts throughout evolution. As humans, we love the idea that we are appreciated enough to be the center of someone else's universe, because it is frowned upon for us to be the centers of our own universe. Monogamy guarantees that we will have that secured in our lives, without having to deal with any third parties. This ties in with your last thought as well, as evidence of that.
ReplyDeleteWhat you say about selfishness in monogamy is really thought-provocing. But then this idea makes me pose a question: why do people end their monogamous relationship? In our society, 50% of marriages end in divorce, meaning that their monogamous relationships is over. The idea of monogamy holds more value than the actual practice of it. Most people date more than one individual, and most people get divorced. Does this mean that these people are selfless? And then what about people who cheat on their significant other? Most people view cheating as a very selfish act...but in the paradox you introduced at the end it would be selfless, right? Just some food for thought...
ReplyDelete