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Incest: A Biosocial View
1st Edition - May 28, 1983
Author: MOST
Language: English
eBook ISBN:9781483296661
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 9 6 6 6 - 1
Incest: A Biosocial View focuses on the sociobiological theory of incest and compares it with other theoretical approaches to the problem. The argument made in this book is that…Read more
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Incest: A Biosocial View focuses on the sociobiological theory of incest and compares it with other theoretical approaches to the problem. The argument made in this book is that the existence of culture does not lead to the exemption of Homo sapiens from the evolutionary process. Instead, it creates a coevolutionary process, of which the evolution of incest avoidance in human beings is the simplest, yet most instructive, example. Comprised of 11 chapters, this volume begins with an introduction to the problem of incest, followed by a discussion on the sociobiological theory in general and some important methodological issues. Epigenetic rules and the importance of reproduction are considered, along with inclusive fitness and kin selection; kinship altruism (nepotism); reciprocal altruism; mate selection and parental investment, parent-child and sibling conflict; aggression and social order; and the biosocial view of culture. The next three chapters survey the theories and empirical findings that led to the sociobiological theory of incest, with particular reference to the views of Edward Westermarck as well as the kibbutz and the sim-pua. The propositions of the sociobiological theory of incest are then outlined. The book concludes by summarizing the classic theories of incest and synthesizing them in light of the sociobiological theory. This monograph is relevant to psychoanalysts, sociologists, biologists, anthropologists, and psychologists studying the problem of incest.
Foreword
Preface
1 Introduction
2 The Biosocial View
Epigenetic Rules
The Importance of Reproduction
Inclusive Fitness and Kin Selection
Kinship Altruism (Nepotism): The Nucleus of Human Sociality
Reciprocal Altruism
Mate Selection and Parental Investment
Parent-Child and Sibling Conflict
Aggression and Social Order
Summary: The Biosocial View of Culture
3 Incest: Concepts, Definitions, and Issues
Definitions
Regulations of Incestuous Intercourse
The Use of Animal Data
Origins
Persistence
Functions
4 Edward Westermarck
5 The Kibbutz and the Sim-Pua: Fooling Mother Nature
The Kibbutz: Collective Education
The Sim-Pua Marriage
Summary
6 Contributions to the Development of the Sociobiological Theory of Incest
Miriam Kreiselman Slater: The Demographic Explanation
Robin Fox
Aberle et al.: A System and Methodological Breakthrough
Gardner Lindzey
N. Bischof
Melvin Ember
Jeffrey T. Burnham
Parker and Others
Summary
7 The Sociobiological Theory of Incest
The Balance of Inbreeding and Outbreeding
The Costs of Inbreeding
The Benefits of Inbreeding
Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Evolution of Incest Avoidance
Inbreeding Avoidance in Animals
The Coevolutionary Process: Incest Regulations in Three Incestuous Dyads
Persistence of Incest Regulations
The Evidence
Summary
8 Freud and the Family—Socialization School
Sigmund Freud—Totem and Tahoo
Bronislaw Malinowski
Brenda Z. Seligman
George Peter Murdock
Talcott Parsons
Summary
9 The Alliance School
Edward B. Tylor
Reo Fortune
Leslie A. White: The Culturologist
Claude Levi-Strauss: The Structuralist
Summary
10 Goody and Schneider: The Problem of Definition
David M. Schneider: From Facts of Incest to the Meaning of Incest