Good Example Of Comparative Analysis Essay

Polygamy (from Late Greek polygamia, "condition of marriage to numerous life partners" or "successive marriage") is a marriage that incorporates more than two accomplices and falls under the more extensive class of Consensual Non-Monogamy. When a man is hitched to more than one wife at once, the relationship is called polygyny; and when a lady is hitched to more than one spouse at once, it is called polyandry. On the off chance that a marriage incorporates numerous spouses and wives, it can be called polyamory, group or conjoint.
Polygamy is viewed in Western culture as an illegal act. Polygamy has long been connected with one of kind damages: the restraint of ladies; underage young ladies excessively youthful to assent constrained into marriage; the extreme relocation of youthful men in topographically focused groups. There is a lot of social, religious as well as health perspective attached to this ban on polygamy in Western culture. The social perspective state that the social well being of not just the wives but also the offspring are highly disturbed due to a household which practices polygamy. The children from such a household are reported to have more problems developing emotionally and mentally and are more prone to depression and anxiety. The women of these households have a higher tendency towards developing both inferior as well as superior complexes. Jealousy, envy and feeling of low self esteem are common aspects of houses which practice polygamy. The religious perspective is that in Christianity it is not permissible to have more than one wife and while the bans are supposedly not because of the religious reasons but the rulings of the Church still have a huge role to play in the Western perspective of polygamy. The health disadvantages that are associated with polygamy include higher risks of depressions, eating disorders due to stress and even suicidal tendencies due to feelings of jealousy and envy. In extreme cases the health of the offspring also depends on the relation the mother of that child has with not just the husband but also other wives thus posing serious health concerns as well. Also it is reported that people who have more than one life partners at the same time are more prone to HIV and AIDS etc due to unprotected and increased sex.
However other cultures, especially the African region are n favor of polygamy. They believe that if the wives are willing and there exists no forced consent and the husband is fair to his vows and treats all his wives equally then only can he have more than 1 wife. However, the religious perspective derives from the religion of Islam which just allows four wives for a man and not more but only if the above mentioned conditions have been met and there exists no exploitation of the rights of any wife or offspring. The health perspective according to the African culture is controlled as there would not be sex with unknown people but rather with known people whose medical history would be known to each other. The social perspective is that if there exists consent and the husband is fair the wives as well as the children would have a more loving household with more people to take care of each other than one with monogamy.
It falls under Hatch’s humanistic principles as he states that the principles can be divided into two parts. This standard incorporates two fundamental attestations: (1) individuals should appreciate a sensible level of material presence, and (2) human enduring is terrible. On the off chance that these criteria are met, nonetheless, other good standards or other (non-good) divides of an individuals' social stock ought not be ethically assessed also ought to be endured. Thus, polygamy does not lie in this principle even though it might appear to as it allows people to have a little material existence, as in have their sexual preference decided by themselves, while it also caters to the part where the rights of others are to be protected. But it does not have a lot in common with the strictly practical affairs of life and thus cannot be analyzed using practical considerations.
Using Elvin Hatch’s argument the matter of polygamy is cannot exactly be termed as an unethical tradition as humanistic principles are culture bound and according to prior research could not be compared due to lack of an appropriate yardstick however Hatch believes that a yardstick does exist to decide the level of ethical value in any tradition but there exist a lot measures that are to be taken into consideration in different culture that the total value of is usually too complicated. So in the case of polygamy there are just so many considerations to take into mind that the final decision cannot be deemed unethical immediately as it has its necessary prerequisites however it can also not be taken as something which is to be tolerated “no strings attached” as it is necessary to ensure that the prerequisites are met and instead of banning polygamy the age of consent should be enforced more properly.

Bibliography

Hatch, E. (1983). Culture and Morality: The Relativity of Values in Anthropology. Columbia University Press.
Kiesbye, S. (2013). Polygamy. Detroit: Greenhaven Pres.