Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nathan Kapusta on January 30, 2013 at 6:59pm

Didn't you kind of answer your own question here? Wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that it's a result of Darwinian Natural Selection? Instincts didn't get there by magic, right?

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Permalink Reply by matt.clerke on January 31, 2013 at 5:01pm

Ok, but why make it illegal? Just because the instincts of the majority tell them it is wrong, does that mean it should be illegal?

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Permalink Reply by jared manley on January 30, 2013 at 7:15pm

I love Taboo topics. Normally I'd comment but...Wheres the popcorn?

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Permalink Reply by matt.clerke on January 31, 2013 at 5:02pm

Me too, you know you can comment AND read everyone elses comments?

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Permalink Reply by Kris Feenstra on January 30, 2013 at 7:32pm

I am not particularly opposed to consensual incestuous relationships or even marriages. The concerns I have regarding such unions are not unique to incestuous partners, and are not severe enough that I think the practice should be universally condemned. I've never accepted the 'ick' factor to be a legitimate argument against homosexual relationships, so I would be a hypocrite to apply it here.

The concerns I do have:

In the case of inbreeding, the risk of offspring being homozygous recessive for autosomal recessive genetic disorders increases. I don't feel this issue is significant, however, as recessive genetic disorders can be inherited in non-incestuous breeding, and not all incestuous pairs are carrying recessive genetic disorders or are even heterosexual or interested in producing offspring.

Genetic diversity also isn't a huge concern. Genetic diversity is important in the overall population, and allowing incest in a society such as mine is unlikely to have any significant impact. Even given the choice, I think a very marginal minority would choose incest with immediate family or even first cousins or aunts or uncles.

The other concern is the potential for relationships to be formed out of abuse. Members of a family exercise strong influence over each other. A parent, sibling, cousin or, aunt or uncle could have had influence over an individual for their entire lives. In that scenario, it becomes difficult to tell if that individual consents to incest due to their own personal desire, or if it is a matter of coercion. While I have this concern, it is not a unique issue to incest, and unless I can actually demonstrate child abuse, at a certain point we cannot dictate the actions of other adults. For better or worse, we have to trust others to make decisions for themselves.

If that decision happens to be incest? Regardless of my personal feelings about it, that decision does not cause me or society any appreciable harm of which I am aware, so I really don't think it's any o' my damn business.

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Permalink Reply by Kris Feenstra on January 30, 2013 at 7:40pm

My wording was sloppy, but a distilled version:

Based on what I currently know, I cannot object to incest on any grounds that aren't prejudicially discriminatory and hypocritical.

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Permalink Reply by matt.clerke on January 31, 2013 at 5:06pm

The other concern is the potential for relationships to be formed out of abuse.

This is something I had not considered. There is typically a power imbalance between close family relations. In the same way a teacher has power over a student.

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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on January 30, 2013 at 7:38pm

I think my biggest objection to incest is that I don't find my father attractive at all.

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Permalink Reply by onyango makagutu on January 30, 2013 at 10:17pm

haha

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on January 30, 2013 at 8:03pm

My greatest objection would have to be that my family's ugly, with a capital UG --

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Permalink Reply by onyango makagutu on January 30, 2013 at 10:17pm

is this true of all them my friend?

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on January 30, 2013 at 11:07pm

All except me, of course --

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