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Brought this up in another thread, but I thought it'd be an interesting topic to debate.
Why is incest wrong?
I personally think that incest is wrong, its not right for me. But that doesn't mean I'm going to tell someone else what to do with their lives.
There is no biological evidence that incest between father/daughter and brother/sister is bad physically. If there is a family history of a genetic disorder, its more likely to occur in the child. But, they aren't more likely to have birth defects, mental illness, or things of that nature.
So, if incest isn't as bad as we've all been told biologically, why is it so taboo?
Like I said, I'm not promoting incest, its most definitely not right for me.
It is taboo because we as a society collective agree that it makes us sick to our stomachs and that it should not happen. There is nothing wrong with everyone agreeing that it is disgusting, no matter how much people want to think they are being oppressed. At the end of the day, this is very much a part of what morality is about. When most people agree on it, you can call something immoral and be done with it.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Anyone know how prevalent it is among animals? I believe even most animals don't engage in such behaviour but I could be wrong (some animals eat their own young for example).
Look at what we do to bosses who put pressure on their subordinates for sexual favors. We do so because we presume the relationship of superior to the subordinate places unfair (to say the least) pressure on the person harassed. Just imagine how much greater an advantage a parent can hold over a child, even a child of majority age. (The notion of sex with ANY child by an adult is too gruesome to even contemplate. I sincerely hope we can agree on that.)
Look: Some things just don't pass the smell test. Incest is universally accepted as one of them. Case closed.
It is taboo because we as a society collective agree that it makes us sick to our stomachs and that it should not happen. There is nothing wrong with everyone agreeing that it is disgusting, no matter how much people want to think they are being oppressed. At the end of the day, this is very much a part of what morality is about. When most people agree on it, you can call something immoral and be done with it.
But what is the basis for that, when its been proven that it doesn't lead to physically ill effects. Even knowing that myself I feel its sick also. But what lead to this if it wasn't a biological reason.
"In discussing humans, the term inbreeding is often considered highly offensive and judgmental.[citation needed] However, such marriages are not illegal in most of the world, and recent attention has been paid to the extent of inbreeding, and its concomitant effects, in the Muslim world.[21] Although it is an undisputed fact that cousin marriages increase the probability of genetic disease, the level of statistical increase varies with the degree of relationship, and the frequency of the marriages. The casual use of the term inbred implies that some degree of degradation exists, when in fact there may be no effect at all. The family relationships of royalty are usually very well known, leading observers to view royalty as highly inbred, but they are often comparable to many ethnic groups where the relationships are not publicized as well. The royal and noble families of Europe have traditionally been prone to royal intermarriage, as it protected property, wealth, and position."
There is no biological evidence that incest between father/daughter and brother/sister is bad physically.
What are you talking about?! There's a ton of evidence that incest or inbreeding causes detrimental effects.
It's been known throughout history. Anyone who's studied basic biology knows it too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Memphis1979
If there is a family history of a genetic disorder, its more likely to occur in the child. But, they aren't more likely to have birth defects, mental illness, or things of that nature.
Harmful or "deleterious" recessive mutations are always arising in each generation -- they can be exposed by breeding with relatives that share them.
The genetic reshuffling between diverse partners is important for the survival of lineages.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20
Anyone know how prevalent it is among animals? I believe even most animals don't engage in such behaviour but I could be wrong (some animals eat their own young for example).
Many animals have built-in strategies to avoid inbreeding (as an evolved adaptation) -- usually it's based on recognizing relatives (ie. through sensory cues such as what they look or smell like), or through avoidance of nestmates, or moving far away from where they grew up.
A similar instinct's probably why unrelated children that grew up together often can't get attracted to each other as adults, because they learnt to see each other "as siblings" (many cases of this were discovered from forced arranged marriages in cultures where the future partners are intentionally raised together in the same household).
Last edited by Stumbler.; 12-21-2010 at 06:52 PM..
William Slaten does an excellent job of outlining a rational basis for the prohibition of incest and why approving of same sex marriages is not step towards legitimizing incest.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stumbler.
What are you talking about?! There's a ton of evidence that incest or inbreeding causes detrimental effects.
It's been known throughout history. Anyone who's studied basic biology knows it too.
Harmful or "deleterious" recessive mutations are always arising in each generation -- they can be exposed by breeding with relatives that share them.
The genetic reshuffling between diverse partners is important for the survival of lineages.
Many animals have built-in strategies to avoid inbreeding (as an evolved adaptation) -- usually it's based on recognizing relatives (ie. through sensory cues such as what they look or smell like), or through avoidance of nestmates, or moving far away from where they grew up.
A similar instinct's probably why unrelated children that grew up together often can't get attracted to each other as adults, because they learnt to see each other "as siblings" (many cases of this were discovered from forced arranged marriages in cultures where the future partners are intentionally raised together in the same household).
In Australia recently there was a case where a father and his daughter were reuinted or met each other for the first time (forget exactly) not knowing they were related and fell in love . The worst part was once they DID find out it didn't change a thing...yep, they still are in a relationship to this day and are raising the daughter's kids as well. They were all over the news at one stage and most people felt pretty strongly about it, especially since the kids were involved.
I don't find incest disgusting. I have no feelings about it either way.
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. The worst part was once they DID find out it didn't change a thing...yep, they still are in a relationship to this day and are raising the daughter's kids as well. They were all over the news at one stage and most people felt pretty strongly about it, especially since the kids were involved.