Affinity (law)

In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity, as distinguished from consanguinity (blood relationship), is the kinship relationship that is created or exists between two or more people as a result of somebody's marriage. It is the relationship which each party to a marriage has to the relations of the other partner to the marriage; but does not cover the marital relationship of the parties to the marriage themselves. Though laws vary considerably, affinity does not always cease with the death of one of the marriage partners through whom affinity is traced, nor with the divorce of the marriage partners. In addition to kinship by marriage, "affinity" can sometimes also include kinship by adoption and step relationship.

Under the law, such relatives by marriage are known as affines. More commonly, they are known as "in-laws", as affinity is usually signified by adding "-in-law" to a degree of kinship.

In law, affinity may be relevant in relation to prohibitions on incestuous sexual relations and in relation to whether particular couples are prohibited from marrying. Which relationships are prohibited vary from country to country, and from time to time. In some countries, especially in the past the prohibited relationships were based on religious laws. (See Affinity under Canon Law.)

In-Laws

In-Laws is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 2002 until January 2003. The series starred Bonnie Somerville, Jean Smart, Elon Gold, and Dennis Farina.

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Law

Law is a system of rules that are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. Laws can be made by a collective legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in statutes, by the executive through decrees and regulations, or by judges through binding precedent, normally in common law jurisdictions. Private individuals can create legally binding contracts, including arbitration agreements that may elect to accept alternative arbitration to the normal court process. The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution, written or tacit, and the rights encoded therein. The law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people.

A general distinction can be made between (a) civil law jurisdictions (including Catholic canon law and socialist law), in which the legislature or other central body codifies and consolidates their laws, and (b) common law systems, where judge-made precedent is accepted as binding law. Historically, religious laws played a significant role even in settling of secular matters, which is still the case in some religious communities, particularly Jewish, and some countries, particularly Islamic. Islamic Sharia law is the world's most widely used religious law.

Fourth Way

The Fourth Way is an approach to self-development described by George Gurdjieff which he developed over years of travel in the East (ca. 1912). It combines what he saw as three established traditional "ways" or "schools", those of the mind, emotions and body, or of yogis, monks and fakirs respectively, and is sometimes referred to as "The Work", "Work on oneself" or "The System". The exact origins of Gurdjieff's teachings are unknown, but people have offered various sources.

The term was further used by his disciple P. D. Ouspensky in his lectures and writings. After Ouspensky's death his students published a book entitled The Fourth Way based on his lectures.

According to this system, the three traditional schools, or ways, "are permanent forms which have survived throughout history mostly unchanged, and are based on religion. Where schools of yogis, monks or fakirs exist, they are barely distinguishable from religious schools. The fourth way differs in that it is not a permanent way. It has no specific forms or institutions and comes and goes controlled by some particular laws of its own."

Law (disambiguation)

Law is a set of norms, which can be seen both in a sociological and in a philosophical sense.

Law, LAW, or laws may also refer to:

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