Inbreeding, Incest, and the Incest Taboo: The State of Knowledge at the Turn of the Century

by Arthur P. Wolf (Editor), William H. Durham (Editor)

Is inbreeding harmful? Are human beings and other primates naturally inclined to mate with their closest relatives? Why is incest widely prohibited? Why does the scope of the prohibition vary from society to society? Why does incest occur despite the prohibition? What are the consequences? After one hundred years of intense argument, a broad consensus has emerged on the first two questions, but the debate over the others continues. That there is a biological basis for the avoidance of inbreeding seems incontrovertible, but just how injurious inbreeding really is for successive generations remains an open question. Nor has there been any conclusion to the debate over Freud’s view that the incest taboo is necessary because humans are sexually attracted to their closest relatives—a claim countered by Westermarck's argument for the sexually inhibiting effects of early childhood association. This book brings together contributions from the fields of genetics, behavioral biology, primatology, biological and social anthropology, philosophy, and psychiatry which reexamine these questions.

Genres: History, Anthropology, Nonfiction

239 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2004

Reviews

[Ben Haskett]

I'm working on a story where two colonists on a planet find themselves in circumstances that require them to procreate for the sake of the human race, but they then have to scramble to devise a solution that would keep their children from resorting to inbreeding later on. I don't plan on having anyone resort to incest or inbreeding, but when the characters rule it out, I want them to be able to provide realistic, practical reasons for why it's a bad idea (beyond simply: "Ew, gross."). I think this book will help me get there.

[Jozie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this would be great for any intro to anthropology type course, just to help someone understand the scope and core questions of anthropology/how broad and interdisciplinary anthropology can get. If you're interested in the actual question at hand from a more traditional anthro or philosophical perspective, you could definitely skip around. I would say the Pusey, Wolf, Sesardic, Durham, Gates, and Arnhart chapters are probably the most important/interesting.