Title: What is marriage? - Discussing Marriage
Headings: Is procreation or adult fulfillment the defining good of marriage?
Philosophical Debates:
The Conjugal vs. Revisionist Views of Marriage
Is procreation or adult fulfillment the defining good of marriage?
Introduction
The Conjugal View
The Revisionist View
Conclusion
Questions and Answers
What about infertile or older couples? Are their relationships disqualified from marriage, in the conjugal view?
Isn’t the distinction between these two views of marriage informed by religious tradition?
Why are these two positions mutually exclusive?
Why does this distinction matter in public policy?
Isn’t personal fulfillment an important part of conjugal marriage?
Isn’t love an important part of marriage, from the conjugal view?
References and Further Readings

Content: From this perspective, marriage is all about romance, love, and mutual affection. Marriage simply identifies a person’s “number one relationship.” Besides being “deeper,” the relationship is different because it has been officially recognized by the state. This is important, from the revisionist view, because it means that the partner’s sexual relationship is now “approved” by the community at large. Marriage, from this perspective, has little to do with procreation. Everything about a marriage (including how long it lasts, whether or not to be sexually exclusive, among other things) — everything depends on what the partners want, because the unifying good of the relationship is the subjective personal fulfillment of the partners. Only the partners can say what ought to be the case about their marriage, since their personal fulfillment is the primary purpose of the relationship — the good towards which they coordinate their activities. Conclusion
If one holds the revisionist view of marriage, it makes no sense to exclude same-sex couples. That’s why so many people support same-sex marriage today — it is because they accept (we think uncritically) the revisionist premise that marriage is all about mutual adult fulfilment. This is why understanding the difference between these two views of marriage is so important — it helps us to understand the heart of the marriage debate.