The Meaning of Marriage: Family, State, Market, And Morals

by Jean Bethke Elshtain (Editor), Robert P. George (Editor)

The movement for same-sex marriage has triggered an unprecedented crisis in the social norms and laws governing marriage. All great civilizations have sought to unite, in the institution of marriage, the goods of sexual intimacy, childbearing and childrearing, and lifelong love between adults. But the last five decades have witnessed the erosion of marriage as a public institution in the developed world. The separation of the goods previously united in marriage has led thoughtful people to question why marriage should be denied to homosexuals. This volume brings together the best of contemporary scholarship on marriage from a variety of disciplines?history, ethics, economics, law and public policy, philosophy, sociol

Genres: Family, Religion

Hardcover

First published October 15, 2010

About the author

Jean Bethke Elshtain is an American political philosopher. She is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School, and is a contributing editor for The New Republic. She is, in addition, newly the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Chair in the Foundations of American Freedom at Georgetown University. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and she has served on the Boards of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and the National Humanities Center. She is also the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and has received nine honorary degrees. In 2002, Elshtain received the Frank J. Goodnow award, the highest award for distinguished service to the profession given by the American Political Science Association.

The focus of Elshtain's work is an exploration of the relationship between politics and ethics. Much of her work is concerned with the parallel development of male and female gender roles as they pertain to public and private social participation. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks she has been one of the more visible academic supporters of U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Jean Bethke Elshtain, scholar of religion and political philosophy, 1941-2013 http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2013...

Reviews

[Christopher Butson · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I share many of the concerns over modernization and divorce found throughout this book, there is no logical reasoning against gay marriage here that isn't built on the authors' unsupported contentions. None of the empirical evidence given to defend their claims is widely-accepted. There are many instances of the authors misappropriating biological "kin altruism" throughout, and heavy reliance on stereotypes (especially regarding promiscuity among gays and lesbians). Many slippery-slope arguments.

[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book addresses a difficult issues, the status of the institution of marriage in twenty-first century America. Unfortunately, the topic has entered our public life at a time when the terms of our public discourse seem poorly equipped to engage in a serious and nuanced discussion concerning the nature and purpose of marriage in American (or any other) society. This Meaning of Marriage is a collection of essays that use economics, sociology, religion, philosophy, and good thinking to examine the importance of marriage.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though not without a (very) few unsubstantiated claims, this book has some of the best secular arguments in favor of traditional marriage that I've read. Whether the various authors are discussing unilateral divorce, same-sex marriage, or kin altruism, The Meaning of Marriage is proof that those in favor of traditional marriage have secular reasons for their stance, and smart reasons at that.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best source I have yet found for clear reasoning on this important topic. The book deals with all threats facing the marriage culture today, including divorce and same-sex marriage.