6142 The Rational Case for Marriage!

Freedomain with Stefan Molyneux

Stefan Molyneux

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4.6 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Stefan Molyneux examines secular arguments for marriage, responding to a listener's query about non-religious justifications for the institution. He defines marriage as a lifelong commitment focused on pair-bonding and sexual exclusivity while exploring its evolutionary significance tied to human reproduction and parental investment. Molyneux discusses the economic implications for men, particularly regarding paternity certainty and the historical motivations for traditional marriage practices. He emphasizes the importance of stable, monogamous relationships for effective child-rearing, linking these concepts to the broader success of the species. The lecture concludes with reflections on the consequences of choosing not to have children and the potential hardships faced in old age without family support, advocating for a return to traditional marriage ideals that enhance emotional and social stability.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	All right, Stephen Moline from Free Domain.
0:03.5	Freedomain.com slash donate to help out the show, help out philosophy.
0:07.5	Really would deeply, humbly and gratefully appreciate your kindness and support.
0:15.3	Freedomain.com slash donate.
0:17.0	So, question from an ex-reader? Not like an ex-girlfriend. From an ex-reader?
0:21.7	Not like an ex-girlfriend.
0:23.4	From an ex-reader, O'Foller, and the question is this.
0:29.0	What are the secular arguments for marriage?
0:32.9	He said all they can come up with is sort of vague hedonism and things like that.
0:35.8	What are the secular arguments for marriage? Well, the first thing, of course, we need to figure out is what is
0:45.5	marriage for. Marriage, of course, is the goal of a lifelong love and parabonding monogamous
0:52.2	commitment from usually a male to a female for purposes of
0:57.5	reproduction. I mean, that's the definition. Again, roads are for cars, but bikes use them too,
1:03.1	right? So that is the general idea. So why? Why is there such a thing as marriage? I mean, rabbits don't have it, other creatures
1:14.2	mongoose-mongies. Monguses don't have it. So why do we have marriage? Now, marriage is for
1:23.6	one thing fundamentally and one thing only, and that is the regulation of sexual activity.
1:31.2	And how do we know that?
1:32.7	Because it's the most unforgivable thing in a marriage to have sex with other people.
1:39.8	You can be friends with other people.
1:42.0	You can go to concerts with other people.
1:43.8	You can play squash and tennis with other people. You can go to concerts with other people. You can play squash and tennis with other people.
1:46.5	You can go to parties with other people.
	...

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