¶ … Moral Compass
The severity of adultery varies according to which perspective is being considered. For centuries, being faithful to one's spouse entails complete celibacy with any outside party. The emphasis placed on fidelity overrides any possible justification for adultery. However, can adultery ever be considered a practical activity in order to ensure the long-term survival of a relationship? Or is the notion of going against every moral and ethical law taught a sin in itself? Adultery cannot be morally justified because the act of adultery itself is something that breaks all that defines what it is like to believe in morals and values. By belittling the attitude toward the act of adultery in a sacred marriage, then everything that the trust in a marriage is built on, is no longer is existence.
Although adultery may seem like a tempting way to release one's frustration in a marriage, it may only seem like an easy way out of something that may still be worth salvaging. The quality of the marriage when the affair first took place is a worthy determinant of whether adultery was morally justified in the first place, since each case is subjective. A marriage that is constantly in turmoil and that is consistently heading toward a negative route instead of a positive one, justifies adultery more so than the marriage that is going perfectly fine. How one feels in a marriage is reflected in the actions that one partakes in. Marriage is about having something to agree about and it means having a sacred bond to enjoy. However, once that bond starts to dissipate, then questions arise about whether or not a marriage is even worth continuing, leading to the action of adultery. The ethical basis for the adultery in a marriage that is no longer functioning and whose quality is already extremely low, then ethically it would be better to commit adultery or to end the marriage before more harm is done to either of the parties involved. Although committing adultery is immoral, ethically, it is better to end a relationship before it starts to get even more complicated and where more people are going to get hurt.
Levels of commitment in a marriage vary according to the individuals involved. A marriage that is first started because of love is seen as more valuable for a couple than the marriage that is started out of convenience. That is, only if love is valued more than practicality can a marriage survive longer than the other. In a marriage, there is always going to be varying levels of commitment from both parties. One side may be more attached to the relationship than the other. This creates a sense of imbalance in a marriage, allowing room for misinterpretation, under appreciation, and ultimately, infidelity. In marriages where love was the precursor, adultery may seem like a loss in faith in the other's partner. It is an eternal promise that has been broken and where forgiveness may be difficult to come by. If a marriage was arranged, then adultery may seem like the breaking of a contract. Arranged marriages are done so that both families could enjoy a financially stable lifestyle for both present and future generations. In this case, ethically, it would be wrong to commit adultery. However if both parties are equally as uncommitted as the other is, then there is no longer a practical reason to continue in a marriage. It would be unethical to break a sacred bond or promise, but if the emotional health of any of the couples is at risk or they feel that their quality of life is being affected by the quality of their relationship, then it may be best to end a relationship that may be through to begin with. Morally, adultery will be wrong if two people are legally married, but ethically, if the two people agree that their quality of life is suffering, then it would be more ethical to stop the suffering before it gets any worse.
Having children involved in a couple's relationship really makes things a lot more complicated when it comes to justifying adultery. As aforementioned, morally, adultery will always be wrong as infidelity signifies the complete misuse of the other's trust and it involves going back on an eternal promise. But it is more ethically forgivable to commit adultery in relationships where children may suffer if a divorce were to take place. It is at times acceptable for two adults who are in a healthy marriage to experiment with outside people so that their own marriage...
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