Science of Cheating

In Wendy Shalit’s editorial, Is infidelity natural? Ask the Apes (Sept 2, 2010), explores how even though there is no scientific evidence many still believe that there is. The author uses other researchers and animal science to prove her theory on infidelity. Even though she reconnoiters reasons why people and animals cheat, Shalit does so in order to say that one will never get the needed intimacy that one gets in a committed relationship. This article was intended to the general audience but also to men who think that it’s acceptable to cheat.

In some ways this article irritates me because there shouldn’t be an excuse for cheating. People in the past have been in monogamous relationships and so have people in the present. In anyway, cheating is wrong. When you commit yourself to someone that should be the someone you give yourself to. Comparing yourself to animals to support the reason why you can’t commit yourself to one person be barbaric. At the end of the day cheating is still done behind the other person back and still hurts the other person hurt and deceived.

 In this article, Shalit uses two contrasting sides to fight her belief that men shouldn’t cheat and reasons that men cheat can be opposed. On way side she quotes Christopher Ryan from CNN.com who tries to argue that “it’s utterly natural from men to cheat” (117). For every part of a woman or man that he used to fight that women entice men or that men were stronger at, she pointed out how the stronger parts of men that would help him stay faithful. She wraps up article reinforcing that people who believe that the unfaithful relationships are for those with “low standards” and “provides a convenient out to deny personal responsibility” (118). She proves no matter what science that one can come up with to prove that infidelity is natural, they are wrong.