Polygamy: Ethics and Life

Polygamy In todays society the idea of Polygamy is looked down upon. Polygamy is the act when a person has one or more spouses. Three objections that might be made are; first, Bentham’s utilitarian view, which says all people should maximize good/ pleasures, second, based on the Intuitionism view that says there is no “one” principle, and third, Russell’s utilitarian view that polygamy is nature. In this paper I will use a Virtue Ethics theory to defend the view that Polygamy is morally impermissible because it shows bad character. Polygamy is an issue in today’s societies where people are married too more than one person. In most cases polygamist relationships usually take place under one household. Meaning Polygamists usually live in the same house. Polygamist relationships are formed for a variety of different reasons whether it be economic religious or for satisfaction. From the religious aspect many people partake in polygamy because they want to follow their anscestors they believe that god wanted them to practice it and it would bring them closer to God. Polygamy was an accepted and approved practice in the Old Testament era. But now a days it is a practice that is looked upon in many different ways throughout the world. As of today, over fifty countries have legalized polygamy. However, more importantly, here in the United States we have deemed polygamy illegal. Having multiple marriages is not only unhealthy, but they are unquestionably not what marriages were intended to be. The United States believes marriage should be sanctioned between two people. Aristotle believes that in life a person should have intrinsic happiness called eudaimonia, which is lifelong flourishing happiness. Having more than one spouse would mean that they are decreasing happiness in life. Polygamy could be considered not virtuous because when a person is married to more than one person, it goes to show how they are mistreated in the relationship. Having more than one