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by slavik81 4006 days ago
>> Why not allow brothers and sisters to marry? > Claimed societal interest in preventing harm to offspring born from inbreeding.

If that's all, it seems that logically, brother-brother marriage should be OK.

I suspect the real reason for a lot of these laws are is "because it's icky". The justifications seem more like rationalisations.
2 comments
murbard2 4006 days ago
Yes, but "it's icky" didn't form arbitrarily, ex nihilo. If you go one level deeper and ask why it's considered icky, you may find justifications, some good, some bad, some outmoded, some relevant.
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hluska 4006 days ago
I should preface this by saying that Christmas dinner at the Hluska household is already complex enough...:)

On a serious note though, you allude to one of my favourite aspects of law. Throughout history, views on brother-sister marriage have changed. At points/places, it has been perfectly fine for brothers and sisters (especially in elite families) to get married.

I am far from an expert in this field so can't speak to why our norms changed. If you want to take this further, you should start with the Westermarck effect and look into the kibbutz study. Or, maybe consider how marriages between families evolved as a way of formalizing business or other strategic relationships. Either way, taboos are cool!!

For example, in ancient Greece, homosexuality was fine. Hell, even Zeus advocated it as a way to prevent pregnancy. Yet, by the early 1900s, it was considered mental illness through much of the world. Taboos are always in flux and I can't figure out why. Logically, you'd think that science and information sharing would make us all more liberal and taboo-proof, but I'm not sure that is happening.

- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westermarck_effect

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fizzbatter 4006 days ago
> Logically, you'd think that science and information sharing would make us all more liberal and taboo-proof, but I'm not sure that is happening.

I think you're right - but i also think you're underestimating the lack of science minded individuals in the ones who are less liberal (such as in the US).

Education is becoming a big problem, in general.

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