“…a happy man doesn’t need to date anyone in order to fill some existential void within himself in the meantime.” I agree. But should a happy man not feel free to date women whom he doesn’t plan on marrying? I don’t think the pursuit of one’s life-partner is the only valid criteria for experiencing (and experimenting) with romance with other people. The women who a man dates before he meets his eventual life partner aren’t just useless attempts nor, necessarily, the means to get laid. The same applies to the men who a woman dates before she meets her eventual life partner. Life is a very long journey, with lots of interesting twists and turns and lessons learned. If I didn’t date the women I dated before I found the woman who I wanted to share my life with, I wouldn’t have learned enough about myself (or women) to be able to sustain the relationship with her and help make it the beautiful thing that it became. (And same goes for her previous experiences dating the men who weren’t “the one” for her). As long as it’s done with respect, there’s nothing wrong with trial and error. That’s how nearly everything in life is discovered.