I'd like to know what Professor Rosenfeld would say about the claims of some "pro-family" advocates like Maggie Gallagher, who claim that relationships that don't produce biological children are of less value to society than relationships based on other things, like mutual care, commitment, companionship, etc. Some seem to think that we should not reward couples who don't produce biological children, which is something our society needs.

我看到了很多哲学史。关于历史哲学的部分怎么样，这是我论文的主题?我该怎么做呢?请建议。

有些人似乎认为，我们不应该奖励那些没有生育亲生孩子的夫妇，这是我们的社会需要的。

后现代主义，绝不是一个简单的定义，它的特点是对小单位的“细读”，而不是对大思想的一般性理论。后现代主义倾向于精致、折衷、装饰和包容;它否定了绝对现实的存在，并对人类进步的概念深表怀疑(Doherty 1991)。如果我们将当前正在进行的重塑当代家庭生活的努力定义为后现代家庭，那么这个定义就带有后现代艺术和文学定义的含义。在这些领域中，“后现代”一词标志着一种熟悉的活动模式的结束和新的努力领域的出现，这些领域的活动不明确，其意义和影响尚未得到充分理解。因此，后现代的特征是不确定性、不安全感和怀疑(Stacey 1990)。

This is so true: noone listens to their parents anymore. At least, not in this part of the world. And if parents are trying to influence their children, most of the time it causes the oppsit effect: rebelling and doing the opposite from parents' advise. I even suspect that some people change their sexual orientation to piss their parents...

I think that we should find the some different way that helps the society.

So some seem to think that we should not reward couples who don't produce biological children, which is something our society needs.

Rachel...I don't think it's so easy to minimize what the word "family" means.
You talk about the divorce rate being 50% as being one of the reasons for your view here, but if people would decide to place children first and civility next...divorcing either with mediation or through a collaborative divorce would keep the children in tact, because of the use of a divorce coach or some other neutral party.
This is one way a family can retain some meaning.

It has more to do with the values that are taught in the home at a young age, then the living arrangements in early adulthood.

我们的主要问题是我们已经变成了一个过于物质的社会。年轻一代离开我们的窝追求事业和成功。很多时候他们会搬家，住在远离家乡的地方。This geographical distance also creates disconnection and disintegration of the traditional family unit..

Thank you for this post Ken! Michael Rosenfeld approach is very interesting. I see the same trend here in Germany!

Good to see people still thinking, and not just sitting back.
但问题不在于离婚率，而在于强加给孩子的压力，让他们认为必须在很小的时候结婚。
We have children who think getting married young is a good thing, and we keep pressuring them into getting married before having sex.
I dont know you but long before I became an adult I lived at home
And I was always told that I have to get married before having sex. And being young thats all that was on my mind.
So we have to teach are children better,

Not only are young people more open minded to interracial mixing, but the increase in mixing after college days flows back to the parent's generation once they actually get to know their grown up child's friends and partner from another race, as opposed to just assuming things about them from racial preconceptions.

When it comes to family values and family structure, things are definitely going downhill at a rapid pace. This appears to be directly related to this independent, selfish, ?me, me, me? mentality that so permeates our society today. Many young people today are extremely self-centered and have no concept of respect for authority and what is truly right and wrong?even grown adults fall into this category. If something drastic does not happen soon to inspire people to desire close family ties and bonds again, our society is just going to fall apart.

It does seem as though children these days are far more disobedient than in the past. But one problem is that the laws are so strict now on how you can discipline your child that parents are to afraid to do anything.

我认为有些人需要开始承担更多的责任，减少对政府的依赖。这是前几天发生的一个真实情况。我的邻居和我聊天，他提到他最近做了膝盖手术。他走得很好，但他说他正在起诉他的外科医生。长话短说——他得到了关于低位投篮的指示，但显然他没有很好地倾听，在打篮球时又伤了膝盖，而他本不应该跑步的。总之，他又撕裂了一条韧带，当再次去看外科医生时，之前给他做手术的外科医生拒绝见他，并把他转到另一位专家那里。总之，他正在起诉那个拒绝给他看病的外科医生。

I think this so called "the age of independence" always existed to be honest, maybe in a secretive fashion, but always there under the societal norms.

I'd like to say that even in the age of independence family is still the basic foundation of a human being. Although we are more of the materialistic era,we inculcate in our minds that family is still family. No matter how independent you may think you'll be, you'll always belong to a family that nevertheless guided you in anyway possible. I believe that in this post modern there still is a classical family ties that binds us. We grow not only because of how we adapt with our environment but also because of how we were raised and how we progress as individuals.

当今世界缺乏社会互动导致了父母和兄弟姐妹之间的依恋。在这种情况下，父母对子女的择偶就没有发言权了。从约会到结婚，年轻一代走自己的路，不尊重老一辈。

I think a few of the comments hit on the real cause of the decline in the family or at least in the decline in the importance of the family. I think 2 major contributors to this are the "ME" attitude that has arisen and in the dependence in the Government to provide the things the family use to provide.
If we remember back to the 1850's to 1900's, the family was the backbone of this county. The government didn't provide all of the benefits or care for people that it does today. In order for people to survive they needed to rely on the Family for support. They also didn't have the transportation available we have today and that meant staying close to home. That prevented people from mixing and that lead to discrimination of various degrees.
As time has passed, the Government, at our request, has taken over the responsibility for caring for us in a variety of Social benefit programs, Laws to protect women and children,Civil Rights, etc. In addition transportation has improved so we can be on the other side of the world in hours. As we have become more dependent on the Government and can travel farther, we have had less need for the family structure. Laws have been passed that prevent you from physically disciplining our kids, so kids become more independent in their attitudes, because there are not consequences of misbehaving or listening to mom or dad.
I don't think interracial marriage will have a negative impact of the Family. The people in the relationship still have the choice to make the family strong. Same-Sex-Marriage will affect the Family if the Family rejects the idea of this type of marriage.
In summary, the age of rapid transportation, the dependence on Government, the role of government to protect us from each other (including telling us how to raise our kids), the growth of the independent and 'ME' driven individual, are the major causes of the decline in family and I see it getting worse. Several of the comments above talked about getting government to provide more care for our elderly so they don't have to be burdened with them. That tells me the Family will get to be less important.

I think technology is playing a role in widening the gap between the current generation and their parents. As we all know, younger people are generally better with computers and such. I learn things from my friend's 8 year old about the internet and I make my living on the internet...very humbling.
As such, the wisdom which comes with life experience seems to be of less importance than Twitter and Facebook to this younger generation.

In my point of view, it has to do more with the education of the parents themselves, but ALSO, with the school... Personnally, my parents put into my mind, from the early stages, that the family is something that you can't mess with. I DO care about the family, and I WILL teach the sames values to my future children....
真诚的你。

我想你会发现每一代人都在哀叹下一代价值观的丧失。从罗马时代就开始了，可能更早。
Like language, society evolves inever newer directions. Get used to it.

I think the role of the family is still intact. To instill what is right from wrong. However I feel like people have always over stepped this boundary. Sexual identity is not for your parents to decide, it's your decision, period. Perhaps maybe I only realize this because it was something my parents instilled in me. I do not like to think of it in this way however, because really the choice is mine.

Another problem only touched upon here is the increasing feeling of resentment felt by the childless (both single and married) about the increasingly large amounts invested in the next generation, when they have no actual stake in this themselves. I myself have tried the "who's going to pay the taxes to keep you in your old age?" argument, but it does seem to convince! Also, many members of childless couples see themselves as working harder than those with children as they never take time off work for "emergencies" either real or perceived! Thanks for the interesting post and coments. O

虽然我们在自己的混合种族家庭中保持了一个强大的家庭单位，但我可以看到家庭价值观在任何地方都在恶化。父母忙于维持生计，所以很少有时间和孩子在一起，向他们灌输强烈的家庭价值观和是非观念。
Schools are bereft of discipline for fear of litigation and if there is no discipline at home there is little wonder that this new generation lacks discipline, social skills, family values and a sense of right and wrong.

我认为这个论点是正确的。随着大多数年轻人离开他们的直系亲属去上大学，他们正在用他们在校园内外建立的“家庭”来补充他们通常会从父母那里得到的建议/指导。这可能是一件好事，也可能是一件坏事，这取决于说话的人是谁，但在我个人看来，这不是一件好事。我并不是说我们应该把孩子关在家里，让他们躲在妈妈的衣角后面，但我绝对支持父母在孩子的生活中扮演更积极的角色，不仅是在孩子上大学的时候，而是一直都是这样。