The “origins” of family

an analysis of nineteenth-century theories about monogamy and promiscuity

Abstract

The paper analyzes debates on monogamy during the emergence of the social sciences, in the later half of the 19th century, comparing the arguments of key figures of the period such as Johann Bachofen, John McLennan, John Lubbock, Lewis Morgan, Friedrich Engels, Charles Letourneau, Charles Wake, and Edvard Westermarck. It argues that prevailing socio-anthropological theories of the 1860s-1880s do not depict monogamy as a natural and universal reality, but rather as a historical construct that arises from a preceding state of promiscuity. By the end of the 19th century, the hypothesis of original promiscuity gradually lost prestige, being supplanted by debates about monogamous or polygamous nature/instinct. The article provides insights into contextualizing contemporary understandings of monogamy, highlighting the historical dimension of our conceptualizations and formulations on the subject within academic and political spheres.