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To: Linda Liberty
Don't you guys think one can lead a moral and happy life by, say, having a series of maybe 20-50 consensual affairs starting whenever you start these days and 26, getting married at 28 (having lived with hubby for 2 years), having 2 or 3 kids in wedlock, having a rewarding career, being monogamous during marriage?

Only if we redefine moral.

mor•al

—adj.

1. of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical: moral attitudes.

2. expressing or conveying truths or counsel as to right conduct, as a speaker or a literary work; moralizing: a moral novel.

3. founded on the fundamental principles of right conduct rather than on legalities, enactment, or custom: moral obligations.

4. capable of conforming to the rules of right conduct: a moral being.

5. conforming to the rules of right conduct (opposed to immoral): a moral man.

6. virtuous in sexual matters; chaste.

7. of, pertaining to, or acting on the mind, feelings, will, or character: moral support.

8. resting upon convincing grounds of probability; virtual: a moral certainty.

—n.

1. the moral teaching or practical lesson contained in a fable, tale, experience, etc.

2. the embodiment or type of something.

3. morals, principles or habits with respect to right or wrong conduct.

11 posted on 07/31/2002 5:25:47 AM PDT by Between the Lines
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To: Between the Lines
The meaning of a word is the disjunction of its separate senses, not the conjunction. Thus your behavior can be moral without being chaste, even by the dictionary definition you post. Chaste is one sense in which the word is used, but there are many others.

Moreover, meaning 6 is on its way to being archaic-- most dictionaries mark archaic definitions, something seems to be wrong with yours. :

15 posted on 07/31/2002 5:32:54 AM PDT by Linda Liberty
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