'Til Death Do us Part

In the 1967 best seller The Naked Ape, zoologist Desmond Morris wrote with comforting authority that the evolutionary purpose of human sexuality is “to strengthen the pair-bond and maintain the family unity” (Wright 279). Lately, this concept has undoubtedly acquired some blemishes. The modern world we reside in today faces many challenges when it comes to monogamous marriages. The meaning and sacredness of marriage has notably shifted, in a short period of time. It went from holding a sacred meaning and sharing a life long bond with someone whom to reproduce and start a family with, to something where it is very rare to reach a 20th anniversary. But what are some of the changes in the modern world that make monogamous marriages so challenging? Should the evolutionary purpose and sacred meaning be preserved, or should the meaning of what is “natural” be shifted to move along with the ever changing times?

There are many obstacles that could be responsible for complicating a monogamous marriage. Contraceptive technology was not available during human evolution. Things such as condoms and birth control did not exist. If an adult couple slept together for a year or two and produced no baby, it was likely that one of them was not fertile. Thus, from the genetic point of view there was little to lose and much to gain by ending their partnership and finding a new mate. In today’s times, it would be likely that the same situation would cause an individual to commit infidelity and thus turning away from a monogamous marriage.


Another possible challenge to monogamy lies in the media – movies, billboards, and magazines. There was no photography in the long ago world that shaped the human male mind. At some deep level, that mind may respond to perfect images of pinups, fashion models, and movie stars as if they were viable mates- as opposed to dull, monogamous devotion. According to the research of evolutionary psychologist Douglas Kenrick, men who are shown pictures of Playboy models later describe themselves as less in love with their wives than do men shown other images; while women on the other hand don’t feel any different about their spouse then previous to being shown the images (Wright 286). Almost all pornography that relies on visual stimulation- images of anonymous people, spiritless flesh- is consumed by males (Wright 282). These images and thoughts that the media implants into one’s mind simply aren’t realistic. Movies portray certain relationships to always be perfect, which isn’t reality, and when couples experience a bump in their relationship they feel discouraged, which could also lead to infidelity. The reality is, the media is an obstacle in the challenge of maintaining a monogamous marriage. One might jump from person to person in search of this fantasy world portrayed by the media, which frankly doesn’t exist.

Perhaps the largest modern obstacle to lasting monogamy is economic equality (Wright 286). In the ancestral environment, gaining a second wife didn’t always mean leaving the first. Donald Symons, author of the 1979 classic The Evolution of Human Sexuality, explains this concept by asking the following questions- why leave her? Why not stay near offspring and keep giving some support? He believes that men are designed less for opportune desertion than for opportune polygyny, but when polygyny is illegal, that impulse will find another outlet, such as divorce. This raises the question of what would have permitted the thought of a second wife. Symons answered that question by stating that possessing more resources, power, or social status than the average Joe, would be a desirable trait for some men, thus leading to fall out of the monogamous marriage (Wright 286).

As you can see by the graphs below, these obstacles seem to be overcoming the idea of monogamous marriage. The top graph shows that marriage rates have drops significantly since 1950, while the bottom graph shows that divorce rates are continually climbing.


All of these obstacles are challenging in the preservation of monogamy, but what could be at stake if these obstacles lead to cessation of what is suppose to be a sacred lifelong commitment and the rates of marriage continuously decrease, while divorce rates increase? What would happened if our idea of what is “natural” shifted to keep up with the times? According to evolutionary psychologists, our everyday, ever shifting attitudes toward a mate or prospective mate- trust, suspicion, revulsion, warmth, iciness- are the handiwork of natural selection that remain with us today because in the past they led to behaviors that helped spread genes (Wright 280). In the case of polygyny, it’s less powerful men grab extra sexual resources (women), leaving less fortunate men without mates- or at least mates young enough to bear children. With this concept, comes rampant divorce which not only ends the marriages of some men, but prevents the marriage of others. Which then trickles down and may cause an end to the family values we presently know. It has been proven that the restlessness designed by natural selection to encourage polygyny can bring divorce, and this can inflict great emotional and even physical damage on their children (Howle and Rowe 53).

While many of these obstacles may be argued as temptations which are part of our human nature, the concept which comes with overcoming them is a far more important part of our existence (Houle and Rowe 67). A moral being is one who is capable of comparing his past and future actions or motives, and approving or disapproving of them and moral life as we know it consists largely of battling human nature. Monogamy is something that should be preserved and can be done by overcoming the many obstacles the modern world has faced up with. While in no way do I believe we should lock people into unhappy marriages, but surely we should not reward for leaving their spouse either. Marriage is a joint between one man and one woman (not multiple men and women) in a special kind of social and legal arrangement that serves many purposes for a society (Houle and Rowe 60). The cessation of it could lead to the end of a ‘family’ as we know it. Monogamous marriages should not only be preserved for issues like social order, reproduction reasons, gender roles and organization, but for the key component of human experience- love.










Work Cited

Anderson, Craig. Media and Risky Behaviors. The future of Children, Vol. 18, No. Children and Electronic Media. 2008. pp. 147-180.

Houle, David and Locke Rowe. Natural Selection in a Bottle. The American Naturalist, Vol. 161, No. 1. Jan, 2003. University of Chicago Press. Pp. 50-67.

Wright, Robert. Our Cheating Hearts. Academic Communities/Disciplinary Conventions. August 15, 1994. Prentice Hall. Pp. 278-291.

Nicole Erickson's Greatest Hits

Chemical Reactions:
Your thesis statement was really strong and said a whole lot about what the body was going to be about. Also, I liked how you dicussed quotes from the article in your introduction paragraph, because it reminded me of what the article was about. I think if you researched more on this topic you could have a really interesting final essay! I would be interested in reading more on what you find and your opinion on the subject because you did make some valid points in your blog! Good job!

Robot Consciousness:
Again, you has a really strong thesis statment. I enjoyed your examples of movies that have had the concept of robots have a conscious and I thought it was smart adding that it your blog because in a way in helped the reader visualize what your talking about. I think if you expand your thoughts and get ideas from researchers other than Minksy this could be a really good final essay as well. I would like to read a little more of your opinion on the subject!

Good Without God:
I think this is one of your best blogs. You had some really strong points in it and it was really well written. You had a good introduction paragraph, however I would just read it through because some sentences might be better put in the condluding paragraph rather than introduction. I like the fact that you put the two different views on the topic! I would like to see more of both views in a final essay.


Overall I think your strong points are you ability to construct a well organized essay with a strong thesis statement. I enjoyed reading all of you writing and I appreciate the advice on my work! I hope my advice helped with your final essay! Good luck with the rest of the semester! :)

Jade Anderson's Greatest Hits

You always do a good job of combining facts from the articles we read, and your own opinion, which gets the reader thinking. I found that you had no grammatical errors and your citations seemed to all be correct. One strong point you have is your introduction paragraphs! They all have a strong thesis sentence and lead directly into your body but still contain what your going to be discussing! Another strong point was how all of your titles are very creative and grabbed my attention from the start! Good job on all of you work!



The Hungry Economy:

I think you did an excellent job of stating interesting and relative facts for the this blog! Sometimes research writings can tend to be a blick clunky because of so much information, but you did a really good job in organization and writing smoothly. I think with so much information out there about the topic, this blog could be a good one to think about expanding on for your final essay. Again, you had a very good introduction paragraph as well as conclusion, and it was clear what your thesis was. I found no grammatical errors and all of your citations were correct. I found your dicussion on Asian immigrants contributing to our economy to be very interesting and I would be interested to read an expanded essay on this topic!


A Material World:
I really enjoyed this blog post! Again, you did a really job of choosing good quotes from Twitchells article to support your opinions and your thesis. Sentences like, Without such gifts, what would those holidays be like? I almost want to believe that they wouldn’t exist. Or maybe they would, but they just wouldn’t be that fun..", I found to be really interesting and very true! This is another example of how you get the readers attention and get them thinking! You had an excellent concluding paragraph and I think you would have no problem developing this blog into a well written, strong, essay! Good Job!

Screwdriver, hardrive.....brain?
I think the topic along was a very interesting topic, but your outlook on the assignment made it even more interesting. I think this is another blog that you could expand your argument that humans have superiority over machines. With the many different arguments that have been made by scientists and philosophers, along with the many examples you provided, your information was well researched and back up your opinion nicely! Only suggestion would be to make a stronger conclusion for the essay if you choose this topic. Overall I really enjoyed all of you work and I think your a very good writer! Thanks for the advice on my work, and I hope mine helped a little. Good luck!

Week 12 Blog Reviews

Susan Johnson:
Is Governmental Intervention the way to go?: I really enjoyed your discussion on the balance of "self-propelled dreams of the people while utilizing the assistance and presence of the government. " I thought it was a good way to begin your blog. Also, I thought it was smart of you to present some example of why some indiviuals have a hard time trusting the government. You made it clear in this blog that your main argument was to have balance. I, like you, stand somewhere in the middle. Overall I think you did a good job presenting your opinion and providing reasons why!

Money makes the World go round. : I found that you had a very creative title that went perfectly with your blog! I liked how you tied in finance in the modern world, by discussing our current economic situation, with also talking about finance in earlier years. You also provided good informative facts about finance, which essentially was the whole purpose of this blog! Good job! :)


Deirdre Cienki
Yes or No to Gov't Control : I liked how you chose to present your opinion as an introductory paragraph and then go on to discuss why some people want government control and others don't. I do agree with you...the subject could get a little tense, but I also agree that I, like you, fall somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. Overall, you did a good job presenting your opinion.

Money Madness: I thought the first two sentences of your introduction paragraph were an excellent thesis statement for this blog. You did a good job presenting facts about finance in the past and the roles it has played!



Jess Tavizon:
Two views One Country: You do a really good job in organizing all of your thought in all of your blogs that I have read! I thought you had a really strong thesis statement, and I liked how you restated some of the information from the article we read. I also liked that you gave reason why you fell somewhere in between of the two arguments, because you found valid arguments for both sides. I also really liked your second paragraph! The story of Ashton was really interesting, and it also provided reason as to why you would not fully trust them. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your opinion in this blog!

Crunching Numbers: First of all, I liked your title! Your introduction was very well constructed and I enjoyed your use of examples, such as that people spend money every single day because we have to eat, and we can't walk around in our "birthday suits". Overall you did a good job providing reasons as to why finance has became so big.

Moneychangers

There is no doubt that money is an influential, necessary component of our everyday life. Finance, the study of how money is acquired and invested, has developed into an academic discipline, deriving from borrowed elements, tools, and technique from mathematics (Chance and Peterson 446). The fields of probability, advanced economics and physics have been the most influential on the reputation of finance. Though a relatively young field, its roots go back centuries. In more ways than one, the field of finance has emerged tremendously. Job prospects in finance are expected to grow faster than average for the next 10 years. From way back when bankers were called "moneychangers" to now, the quantitative fields emerge together to open new opportunities in the world of finance.

The scientific character of finance arises largely from its preoccupation with risk (447). The advances in computers and the development of increasingly powerful statistical techniques have allowed finance to become a truly empirical science, demanding that its various experiments be as objective, accurate, and repeatable as those in particle physics of microbiology (447). Risk in finance is both complicated and pervasive, and that is where the element of what is known as derivatives come in. They are instruments derived from the values of stocks, bonds, currencies, or commodities. These instruments allow the buying and selling of financial uncertainty, so that firms needing to reduce risk can transfer it to firms willing to bear it (451). All of these theories came together to be called financial engineering.

Many of these financial theories and tests are now as likely to be formulated at major financial institutions as at universities. The creation of these theories along with its risk management tools is what enabled practitioners of this discipline to find a place in the world of the academy.

Two Sides of the Spectrum

As far back as I can remember, there have been certain set of rules I was brought up with. From being in kinder garden and being told to raise my hand if I had something to say, to learning how to drive and seeing "red means stop", we have been brought up with a certain set laws and regulations that are ultimately designed with one motive; to protect us. Even as simple as raising your hand in an elementary classroom, without that rule, a bunch of students would be speaking at once and it would be so chaotic that the teacher could not do what they are there to do- teach. Now being older, you realize that that are rules in almost every aspect of our live; school, family, work, law and society. I believe that the elimination of these rules we have grown to be so familiar with, would cause our country to become corrupt and unsafe, and ultimately result in chaos.


After reading the article "Politics for the Really Cool", it is clearly evident that Sameer Parekh was at the far end of the spectrum believing that all government should be stripped away. He has been selling a cryptographic product which would be useful to anyone who can't afford to leave behind a paper trail (McHugh 436). That would be someone running an illegal gambling business, distributing child pornography, or arranging details of a cocaine shipment, or simply someone who just doesn't want to pay taxes (McHugh 436). It is outrageous to think that these kinds of products even exist; that someone would think it is ok to produce a product that helps an individual get away with distributing child pornography! It is these same products and technology that federal authorities have been attempting to limit the spread of. But just think of if the government was completely stripped away, who would be fighting to limit such things? Without the government control these actions would be increasingly more common and nobody would attempt to control or limit them.

The article also discusses how a "key escrow" bureaucracy that would hold cryptographic keys that could, if law enforcement deemed it necessary, be used to unscramble any encrypted message (437). It brings up the question do we really want to put that much power in the hands of bureaucrats? If so, we are looking at kidnappings, terrorist attacks, banking scandals, and things of those sort possibly being prevented. I personally wouldn't mind giving up some of my privacy if it means preventing a terrorist attack or kidnapping, but how far is too far? If we discuss the opposite end of the spectrum which Parekh lays, we would be talking about complete government control. I do not believe in this side of the spectrum as much as I am against Perkhs side.

When the government attempts to control every aspect of our life, then that is too far. I lie in between these two sides of the spectrum, but more towards the side that prevents our country from total chaos. Our government is here for a reason. Without it, our safety and our country as we know it would be at stake.

Week 11 Blog Reviews

Susan Johnson:

Polish Prosperity:
I thought you did a good job in your first paragraph. I liked that you started off by discussing how many immigrants came to America in search of great opportunities. I also liked that you chose to write about Polish immigrants because of your own family came from Poland. I come from a hispanic origin, so I was unable to write about my own origin because of the intructions! You had a couple sentences that seemed to have ran on, maybe a couple commas could have fixed the problem. I did notice that you always seem to throw in creative phrases every now and then, for example, "...a piece of the great American pie", which always add a little extra to your writing! I really enjoyed reading about your great grandparents and their 11 children!

Buy Now! :
I liked how your title related to the first sentence of your blog. I found that statement, "Our modern world is driven by the desire to own or operate the most up-to-date technologies and possessions", to be very true and I agree with you! I also thought asking "...but is it really so bad?", was a good way to transition into your body paragraph. Also, you showed good organization by having a seperate paragraph to dicuss the good things about materialism, and another to discuss the bad. Your concluding statement summed up your blog nicely and overall it was very well written.



Deirdre Cienki:

Slovakia Calling :
I noticed that the first paragraph mostly consisted of facts about Slovakia, which could be good for anyone not familiar. Some of the information, though it was very informative, seemed to kind of just been thrown in. It was very interesting to read about their impact during World War II, and their family values, and also the American approach to their immigration. I would have liked to have read more about their impact on todays culture, but overall It was really interesting! I enjoyed reading and getting a little bit more familiar with the information you presented.

"Goods" for a reason:
I really liked the title and thought it went good with the content of your blog. I thought your first paragraph was really good! In the sentence, "While I know having all the newest electronics or the nicest car doesn’t make a person happy (or does it?), it’s okay to look and like… Isn’t it?", I thought it was kind of funny, and a good way to continue on with talking about if it is good or not. I also thought it was smart of you to include a paragraph on Twitchell's perspective on the issue, and then go on to talk about the down side of materialism versus the good. I thought you did a good job and it was very well written!

Jess Tavizon:
Armenians in America:
I thought you did an excellent job! I liked how you incorporated a little of your own background by talking about your parents and then went on to introduce how Armenians impacted America. You did a really good job in organizaing a summary with good background information, and you also cited everything correctly! I also thought it was cool how you said you didn't even know that the Republic of Armenia existed, yet you did a good job researching and explaining their impact on the country. I also loved how you threw in that System of a Down was also Armenian,( I didn't know that!), and how this country is only better by the talents of other ethnicities.

Thou Shall Not Covet:
Again, I thought your title was very creative! I like that you took a different approach that most of the blogs that I read, by beginning your blog with talking about taxes being places in the 1700's. Also, I thought you made a good point with using the example of being a pack rat! I probably am guilty of keeping things I KNOW i don't need. I loved your conclusion paragraph, especially the point you make when you say that although the material items may bring you pleasure now, when you leave this world you can't take them with you. Excellent point! I agree with you completely that materialism has its pros and cons and overall I think you did a good job! :)