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: What is marriage? - Discussing Marriage
Philosophical Debates: The Conjugal vs. Revisionist Views of Marriage
Is procreation or adult fulfillment the defining good of marriage? The conjugal (or traditional) view of marriage is characterized in terms of three essential features: a comprehensive union between a man and a woman (with the unifying good of the relationship being procreation); a shared domestic life ordered towards the raising of children; and norms of exclusivity, permanence, and monogamy. While there are many other features of a good marriage (such as love, friendship, companionship, romance, etc.), these features are not enough to make a marriage, minimally and traditionally understood. In contrast, modern society is increasingly adopting what we call a revisionist view of marriage, in which the unifying good of the marital union is the personal fulfillment of the spouses.