Sexual Attraction and Childhood Association : A Chinese Brief for Edward Westermarck / Arthur P. Wolf.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wolf, Arthur P., Author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (588 p.)

Place of Publication:

Stanford, CA : Stanford University Press, [2022]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In 1891, the anthropologist Edward Westermarck proposed that early childhood association inhibits sexual attraction and that this aversion was manifested in custom and law as the basis of the universal incest taboo. Then, in 1910, in the essays later published as Totem and Taboo, Sigmund Freud challenged the "Westermarck hypothesis" on the ground that "the earliest sexual excitations of youthful human beings are invariably of an incestuous character." The incest taboo only existed, Freud argued, because of this natural propensity. Freud's challenge carried the day and became the standard view throughout the social and biological sciences. Consequently, the question was: why do all societies repress this natural inclination? Biologists argued that the incest taboo protected us from dangers of inbreeding; sociologists argued that it was necessary to prevent sexual rivalry that would destroy the family; and anthropologists saw the real purpose of the taboo as forcing families to exchange women in marriage. The book uses a wide range of research - from studies of nonhuman primates to reports of incestuous child abuse - from African divorce practices to animal behavior - to demonstrate that Westermarck was right and Freud wrong. It shows that there is a critical period in human development - approximately the first thirty months of life - during which association permanently inhibits sexual attraction. It concludes that the incest taboo is unnecessary and cannot be explained in functional terms, and that encouraging early association between father and daughter is probably the best way of preventing sexual abuse.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Preface

Contents

Tables

Figures

CHAPTER 1 History of the Hypothesis

CHAPTER 2 A Chinese Laboratory

CHAPTER 3 The Laboratory in Time and Space

CHAPTER 4 Thirteen Exemplary Subjects

CHAPTER 5 Form of Marriage and Adultery

CHAPTER 6 Form of Marriage and Divorce

CHAPTER 7 Form of Marriage and Fertility

CHAPTER 8 Form of Marriage and Premarital Pregnancy

CHAPTER 9 Relationships Between the Variables

CHAPTER 10 Age at Adoption and Adultery

CHAPTER 11 Age at Adoption and Divorce

CHAPTER 12 Age at Adoption and Fertility

CHAPTER 13 Age at Adoption and Rebelliousness

CHAPTER 14 The Differences Between Men and Women

CHAPTER 15 The Differences Between Individuals

CHAPTER 16 Alternative Explanations: Adoption

CHAPTER 17 Alternative Explanations: Poverty

CHAPTER 18 Alternative Explanations: Health

CHAPTER 19 Alternative Explanations: Prestige

CHAPTER 20 Alternative Explanations: Age at Marriage

CHAPTER 21 Alternative Explanations: Sibling Rivalry

CHAPTER 22 Alternative Explanations: Mistaken Identity

CHAPTER 23 Brothers and Their Wives

CHAPTER 24 Other Evidence: Monkeys

CHAPTER 25 Other Evidence: Apes

CHAPTER 26 Other Evidence: Human Beings

CHAPTER 27 Inhibition and Incest

CHAPTER 28 Aversion and Attachment

CHAPTER 29 Westermarck and Freud

CHAPTER 30 Westermarck and the Incest Taboo

NOTES

INDEX

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 31. Jan 2022)

ISBN:

0-8047-6468-9

OCLC:

1294426700