"You want monogamy? Marry a Swan" (or a goose, or a flatworm).

Or so goes the line penned by Nora Ephron, in "Heartburn." Shocking to hear that from your dad when you're wanting sympathy over an unfaithful man, but maybe he's not unfaithful, maybe he's doing what he was designed to do.

Borrowing from David P Barash, a professor of psychology at the University of Washington, Brandon Jessee points out that we bare all the animal characteristics of a polygamous species, or at least a lot of them, and also mentions that when it comes to generalizing, exceptions prove the rule. (Remember, if it's an exception, generally speaking the OTHER thing happens more often, hence, the exception proves the rule).

The Tallahassee Democrat - "(Polygamy is) in our blood, our nature, to mate with as many partners as possible, to spread our seed and reproduce the most capable of offspring. But some people still believe love conquers all — even science.
To conclude his argument that humans are polygamists by nature, Barash states that 'before the cultural homogenization that came with Western colonialism, more than three-quarters of all human societies were (polygamous).'

Not until 'religious freedom' was assumed in the new world did the human race figure itself to be better than nature and invent mountains of asinine rules to be divulged in a fancy book.

So next time you’re entertaining the idea of a long and loving marriage of three to five years, consider the possibility that maybe that road wasn’t meant for you. It was made for geese and flatworms, and they don’t appreciate the traffic."

The original article was "Deflating the Myth of Monogamy," by Professor Barash.

Sphere: Related Content