As many of you have heard by now, my sister has recently published her first book, "Minimizing Marriage: Marriage, Morality, and the Law." Well, for those of you that want the one paragraph synopsis, you can find it at New Books in Philosophy, and for those of you with much more time on your hands, you can watch her interview on Philosophy TV.I think one of the things that I like about her book the most so far (and admittedly I haven't made it very far yet as I'm trying to finish up another book first), is the example that she uses to frame the start of her arguments. Growing up, there were two little old ladies (widows I think) that lived across the street from us. They weren't related, they weren't in a romantic relationship, but they provided support and care for each other. If one of them had an accident or disease and ended up in the hospital, then the other would have none of the rights given to family for visiting even though they were essentially all the family that the two of them had in the world. It's this type of argument that she explores in her book for why we should be able to grant rights to people in relationships that are not necessarily romantic or heterosexual depending on the context...But, as with all philosophical discourses, this does open a slippery slope. You'll have to watch her interview or read the book to get all of the details. If you want a signed copy, let me know, and I'll see about how arrangements can be made to get you one.
Update 6/13/12: Now in Italian!
Update 6/15/12: Cal Poly book of the month: "Elizabeth Brake's "Minimizing Marriage" is one of the most interesting, well-written, and well-argued books about the future of marriage written in a long while."
Update 11/1/12: Glowing reviews: "it is by far the most sophisticated and challenging discussion of marriage known to me by any contemporary political philosopher. It should be required reading for every political philosopher, and for every philosopher who is seriously interested in marriage."
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