Can incest ever be justified?

*shrugs*, I could barely make sense of it?

Having worked with lots of babies with horrible genetic diseases, the majority of them had parents who were first or second cousins. If the relationship was any more incestuous, then genetic diseases would become widespread. It is indeed a corruption of genetic diversity.

Only if you and your family member were the last people alive and had to preserve the human race.

I read an article that said there was probably a psychological reason for siblings not finding each other attractive, as shown by children who were brought up together on a kibbutz, whose parents would be quite happy for each other to marry, grow up but only feel sibling-type feelings for one another.

If this is true, then maybe the real problems could happen when children who have been separated whilst still very tiny meet up again in the future- without the effects of being brought up with one another they may find each other attractive. I guess with egg and sperm donation becoming more common, and divorced people going on to have second families who may have no contact with their first, this might happen more and more frequently.

I aggree, it is entirely likely that evolutionary psychology would provide us with a disgust in incest.

People on this thread have claimed it is a cultural taboo, yet I have never been tought about it in school,

Also children of parents who are disgusted by incest would be more likely to survive, in terms of evolution, due to the small chance that people who aren't disgusted by incest would copulate with their siblings.

Why not though? Since birth children are told that homosexuality is normal and perfectly natural,

That wouldn't be surprising then. Why don't you think it's culturally taboo? I think it fits quite comfortably the very definition.

I disagree. That only skims the surface, the official PC line and what parents tell their children are often completely different.

Because I haven't been indoctrinated into feeling negatively about incest in the same way I have about racism and homophobia.

Hmmmm, I guess there is the possibility that a large amount of parents are stealth homophobes.

I think you're right here actually. I've struggled to think of some influences I might have had, but can't really think of any solid ones. So I would go along with it being part of our genetic makeup.

But surely the fact you haven't been preached about the wrongs of incest only proves to amplify the taboo-ness?

I believe most 'modern parents' take the mentality that it's okay for other people's children to be gay, but they pray to god that it won't happen to them. It's also very hard to dislodge the beliefs formed a couple of generations ago; homosexuality will not be considered 'the norm' for quite a while yet.

I don't think so. If we haven't been preached about the wrongs of incest, why do we find it disgusting? Our disgust must be generated from somewhere. I don't think disgust can result from not talking about something.

Hmmm, why would they pray that their children - their genetic line, their immortality - would not be gay?

It wouldn't bring shame upon them, they wouldn't be rejected by society.

35. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

Interesting use of language, maybe this is where the term 'getting laid' comes from

but then the human race would be doomed, because the genetic purity would be degraded from the first new generation.

Don't the Mormons believe in this? If so isn't this the reason why they do it? j/w