When two people walk down the aisle and make a promise to love each other "til death do us part," they are proclaiming that for the rest of their lives they will only love the their spouse and never move away from their loved one. If they distance themselves from their loved one; having sexual intercourse with someone other than your spouse. They are committing adultery. Adulterous behavior can be considered to fall within the realm of morality. For men and women there are many reasons why they have committed or are committing adultery. For the most part, many of those who have extramarital affairs have good sex lives but come from marriages with little or no intimacy. When a spouse's needs are not met, many marriages tend to become more susceptible to an extramarital affair. Often the inability of men and women to meet each other's needs is due to a lack of understanding rather than a selfish reluctance to be considerate. Philosopher Richard A. Wasserstrom notes in this article that the consensus arguments judging adulterous behavior state that adultery is immoral because it involves breaking a promise to one's spouse and because it involves using other people as a means to an end. According to the deontic view, deceiving, breaking promises, and using others as means to ends are simply wrong in themselves, regardless of any additional consequences. The adulterous spouse uses two people as a means to an end; one is the betrayed spouse and the other is the sexual partner in the relationship. Both are treated as sources of solidity or pleasure and not as ends in themselves, since adultery essentially places one's own needs above the right of others to self-determination. According to the utilitarian view, adultery is wrong because dishonesty and promise -keeping the result in...... middle of paper ...... suitable for lying. A final reason given for believing that adultery is immoral is that it weakens the institutions of marriage and family. Since these institutions are good for society, engaging in activities that undermine them is morally suspect. Much of the above is legitimately obvious. But such thoughts can go by the wayside when people are faced with the choice of being unfaithful to their spouse. There will be times when you sacrifice your happiness for the sake of your spouse and the relationship itself. However, when we place the interests of our spouse and the well-being of the marital relationship above our own pursuit of happiness, we experience a deeper and more lasting form of happiness. This is the form of happiness that comes from having a good character and continuing a loving relationship with the person we promised to be faithful to.