Abstract I critically examine how, from a Western cultural perspective of romantic love and Judeo-Christian tradition, certain liberal cultural values and prejudices are used presumptuously to criticize polygamy in African traditions. These criticisms assume, circularly, the superiority of Western cultural monogamous values over African cultural traditional practice of polygamy. I argue that these arguments are specious and particularly unreasonable from an intercultural philosophical perspective. A plausible liberal justification for Western legal imposition of monogamy is to prevent harm. I argue that if polygamy is so harmful as to warrant legal restriction based on the liberal principle of harm, such harm also exists in monogamy. The harm that is falsely associated with polygamy is not the result of polygamy per se but other factors relating to the social-cultural context of the marriage or the character of the individuals in the marriage.

中文翻译：

---

浪漫爱情的一夫一妻制观念和非洲传统的一夫多妻制西方批评

摘要我从西方浪漫主义爱情和犹太基督教传统的文化角度批判性地考察了如何以自由主义的文化价值观和偏见来肆意批评非洲传统中的一夫多妻制。这些批评循环地假定西方文化一夫一妻制价值观优于非洲文化传统一夫多妻制。我认为，从跨文化哲学的角度来看，这些论点是似是而非的，尤其是不合理的。西方对一夫一妻制实行法律强制性的合理自由辩解是为了防止损害。我认为，如果一夫多妻制具有危害性，以至于基于伤害的自由原则对法律加以限制，那么一夫一妻制也存在这种伤害。