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The taboo against incest cannot just be from religious upbringing (and besides, incest happens all over the bible--Abraham married his half-sister Sarah, one of David's sons rapes his half-sister, etc.) because it appears all over the planet.
One incident of a child born of incest probably won't result in a three-headed kid, but over time--yes, the genetic mutations will occur. For those of you who read the book 1491, about the population in the Americas before the Europeans got here (a main point being that the population was much higher than previously thought but quickly decimated by smallpox and other Euro diseases), you will remember the tribe with the notched ears from inbreeding. They are the remnants of once-large culture that was badly depopulated through disease and were isolated from other tribes, and so have interbred over the past centuries.
On an anecdotal note, I once worked with a woman who had several miscarriages. She finally carried a child to term, but the baby had a heart defect, reparable through surgery. Since the heart defect was known to be a genetic problem, they went through genetic testing. The doctor told them that the problem was that they were too closely related. This was a bit of a shock, since as far as they know, they are not related at all even though both are from Brooklyn Italian families originally from the same area of Italy--somebody must have had a secret a couple of generations before.
Things are determined to be right/wrong by what the majority in any given culture believes is righ/wrong. Considering that incest taboos are almost universal in cultures around the world (with a few exceptions, of course), this tradion must go back a LONG time, perhaps to the root population of modern humans...
...and it's a tradition I would like to keep. The mere thought of doing my parents, siblings or childen makes me want to shoot myself in the head. I would rather saw my dong off with a rusty hacksaw and eat it with a bottle of broken glass, a plate of fresh dog feces and a cup of warm Miller light.
That is just plain SICK. Why would ANYONE drink warm beer?????
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."
Would you mind telling me the source of the above quote?
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's bad psychologically and wrong for what potential child may come of it. Major disorders.
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.
Oh, it is a biological reason. The basis is similar to why most humans are disgusted by bitter flavors - a survival mechanism. Bitter is the common flavor profile of poisonous plants; by being disgusted by them, our hunter-gatherer ancestors did not poison themselves and thus cause our species to die out. Incest causes mutant offspring, too many mutant offspring will also cause our species to die out. This is deeply ingrained in us, and is in part why the thought of Father-daughter or brother-sister sex sickens us.
Oh, it is a biological reason. The basis is similar to why most humans are disgusted by bitter flavors - a survival mechanism. Bitter is the common flavor profile of poisonous plants; by being disgusted by them, our hunter-gatherer ancestors did not poison themselves and thus cause our species to die out. Incest causes mutant offspring, too many mutant offspring will also cause our species to die out. This is deeply ingrained in us, and is in part why the thought of Father-daughter or brother-sister sex sickens us.
That just doesn't pass a rational test. Many people are not "sickened" by it and I would strongly suggest that those who are were programmed as such at a very young age.
Now....to be clear, father-daughter is different from brother-sister. With father-daughter a control issue enters in, but I still don't see justification for the state to interfere if they are both adults and pregnancy risk is removed.
I think that even if society did not say it was wrong, it would have ot take the opposite of, which would be saying it is right and instilled as a social custom and norm, for it to be widespread. I think most people just simply wouldn't do it, and there wouldn't have to be a rationalization of why, it just simply wouldn't happen because people would be personally put off by it.
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