Infidelity is wired into Man s DNA, evolutionary psychologists argue, but others insist that Man chooses infidelity over faithfulness.

Robert Wright s 1994 article, "Infidelity--It may be in our genes. Our Cheating Hearts," suggests there may be a biological reason for man s tendency to cheat. The argument presented in the article blames the infinite capacity for reproduction for the male tendency to stray. Women, the argument suggests, can reproduce at most once a year. Male roaming is thus natural, the result of the hard-wired need to propagate the species.

Wright s conclusions on infidelity are still controversial. Many argue that the biological/evolutionary explanation ignores human freedom of choice.

The evolutionary explanation gives no weight to the advanced human brain and, in fact, suggests that the human male is no better suited to monogamy than the male chimpanzee. It ignores the human ability to think and reason - an ability the lesser animals don t have. Male adultery, the article suggests, is almost inevitable in the evolutionary scheme of things.

Unfortunately, male adultery cannot be reasoned away with biology simply because of reason itself. Humans have reason. Humans have the capacity to think and choose. Adultery comes not as the result of some incontrollable biological urge but at the end of a thought process where the male chose to stray.

Men choosing to stray should not rely on the evolutionary explanation to get them out of trouble.