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Marriage and Morals - Bertrand Russell

Date- 5 June, 2017
Title- Marriage and Morals
Author- Bertrand Russell
Published on- 1929
 Genre- Non-fiction
 

The book is enthralling enough to hold the attention of the readers throughout .Russell delineated the evolution of sexual and marital ethics of the Europeans largely and compared these ethics and morals with that of the so called uncivilized savages of the Pacific Islands in the first part of the book. European sexual and marital morals are largely influenced and shaped by the moral obligations of the Abrahamic religions like Christianity and Judaism, as well as the traditions of the ancient Greco-roman society. Russell ridiculated the Christian dogma which considers sex to be a gross deed and aspires for a society which no longer would adhere to the prejudices imposed by the Church. The book is mainly written on the perspective of the Victorian Britain and scrutinizes the notions prevalent in the then society about sex, love and marriage. Russell condemned the patriarchy, which has the roots in the scriptures of religions and as well as the customs of the society, to be the principal obstacle in the emancipation of women .Russell also criticized the taboos prevalent in the society regarding the impartition of sexual  education, and wanted sexual education to be a part and parcel of education .Russell also blamed eugenics to be hugely responsible for the distorted opinions of the society regarding sex .Russell concluded that the sexual ethics and morals of a society are  largely determined by the socio-religious dogmas, rather than rationalism and wanted the latter to be dominant.
The book being written in 1929,can be considered as extremely progressive compared to the time .Most of the aspirations of Russell have become a reality in the western world. Russell was one of the very few men of his era to uphold the values of French revolution and the age of enlightenment, having support for neo-liberalism and first wave feminism, which is evident in the book .The limitations of the book can be described as Russell’s extreme faith in his own arguments and debunking the customs and ethics prevalent in the society without constructive comparison.
-Rassiq Aziz Kabir

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