DOCSLIB.ORG

Edward Westermarck's Moral and Social Theory

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Edward Westermarck's Moral and Social Theory Morality Made Visible While highly respected among evolutionary scholars, the sociologist, anthropologist and philosopher Edward Westermarck is now largely forgotten in the social sciences. This book is the first full study of his moral and social theory, focusing on the key elements of his theory of moral emotions as presented in The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas and summarised in Ethical Relativity. Examining Westermarck’s evolutionary approach to the human mind, the author introduces important new themes to scholarship on Westermarck, including the pivotal role of emotions in human reciprocity, the evolutionary origins of human society, social solidarity, the emergence and maintenance of moral norms and moral responsibility. With attention to Westermarck’s debt to David Hume and Adam Smith, whose views on human nature, moral sentiments and sympathy Westermarck combined with Darwinian evolutionary thinking, Morality Made Visible highlights the importance of the theory of sympathy that lies at the heart of Westermarck’s work, which proves to be crucial to his understanding of morality and human social life. A rigorous examination of Westermarck’s moral and social theory in its intellectual context, this volume connects Westermarck’s work on morality to classical sociology, to the history of evolutionism in the social and behavioural sciences, and to the sociological study of morality and emotions, showing him to be the forerunner of modern evolutionary psychology and anthropology. In revealing the lasting value of his work in understanding and explaining a wide range of moral phenomena, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, anthropology and psychology with interests in social theory, morality and intellectual history. Otto Pipatti is a researcher in the Department of Social Research at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Classical and Contemporary Social Theory Series Editor Stjepan G. Mestrovic Texas A&M University, USA Classical and Contemporary Social Theory publishes rigorous scholarly work that re-discovers the relevance of social theory for contemporary times, demonstrat- ing the enduring importance of theory for modern social issues. The series cov- ers social theory in a broad sense, inviting contributions on both ‘classical’ and modern theory, thus encompassing sociology, without being confined to a single discipline. As such, work from across the social sciences is welcome, provided that volumes address the social context of particular issues, subjects, or figures and offer new understandings of social reality and the contribution of a theorist or school to our understanding of it. The series considers significant new appraisals of established thinkers or schools, comparative works or contributions that discuss a particular social issue or phenomenon in relation to the work of specific theorists or theoretical approaches. Contributions are welcome that assess broad strands of thought within certain schools or across the work of a number of thinkers, but always with an eye toward contributing to contemporary understandings of social issues and contexts. Titles in this series From the Peaceable to the Barbaric Thorstein Veblen and the Charro Cowboy Beatriz Aldana Marquez Morality Made Visible Edward Westermarck’s Moral and Social Theory Otto Pipatti Critical and Cultural Interactionism Insights from Sociology and Criminology Michael Hviid Jacobsen For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/ sociology/series/ASHSER1383 Morality Made Visible Edward Westermarck’s Moral and Social Theory Otto Pipatti First published 2019 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Otto Pipatti The right of Otto Pipatti to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis. com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-0-8153-4743-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-351-16916-5 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents Acknowledgements vi List of abbreviations vii Introduction 1 1 Research programme on morality 8 2 The evolution of Westermarck’s theory of moral emotions 22 3 Westermarck’s mature account of morality 37 4 Sympathy in Westermarck’s sociology (I): evolutionary roots and expansion 62 5 Sympathy in Westermarck’s sociology (II): the genesis and maintenance of moral norms 72 6 The anatomy of moral responsibility 83 7 The origin and development of moral sentimentalism: Westermarck on Shaftesbury, Hutcheson and Hume 99 8 The Smithian roots of Westermarck’s theory of morality 122 Concluding remarks 141 Bibliography 148 Index 167 Acknowledgements This book is the end result of research which began in the early days of my under- graduate studies. As this long toil is finally drawing to a close, I wish to express my gratitude to those involved. Heikki Sarmaja has been reading my writings for longest, and his comments have been extremely helpful for my work. Many years of ongoing conversations with Antti Lepistö have likewise been very valuable for my endeavours. I am very grateful to Petteri Pietikäinen and Niina Timosaari for their long-standing support. Erkki Kilpinen in his helpfulness, encouragement and unreserved attention has been of great support throughout my postgraduate career. Pekka Sulkunen’s understanding of Westermarck’s relevance to sociology contributed decisively to the realisation of the study. My partner Hilma Salonen’s assistance has been irreplaceable both in completing my doctoral thesis and creat- ing this book. Olli Lagerspetz, Camilla Kronqvist, Pertti Töttö and Juhani Ihanus have commented on my work in depth. Many thanks to Miialiila Virtanen, Jouni Ahmajärvi and Julia Dahlberg for much support along the way. An earlier ver- sion of Chapter 2 was published in Lagerspetz, O., Antfolk, J., Gustafsson, Y & Kronqvist, C. (Eds.) (2017). Evolution, Human Behaviour and Morality: The Leg- acy of Westermarck. London: Routledge. Abbreviations E Hume, D. (1978). Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ER Westermarck, E. (1932). Ethical Relativity. London: Paul Kegan. HHM Westermarck, E. (1891). The History of Human Marriage. London: Macmillan. HHM I Westermarck, E. (1921). The History of Human Marriage vol. 1. London: Macmillan. HHM II Westermarck, E. (1921). The History of Human Marriage vol. 2. London: Macmillan. HHM III Westermarck, E. (1921). The History of Human Marriage vol. 3. London: Macmillan. MML Westermarck, E. (1929). Memories of My Life. New York: The Macaulay Company. ODMI I Westermarck, E. (1906). The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas vol. 1. London: Macmillan. ODMI II Westermarck, E. (1908). The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas vol. 2. London: Macmillan. T Hume, D. (1978). A Treatise of Human Nature. Oxford: Oxford Uni- versity Press. TMS Smith, A. (1982). The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Indianapolis: Lib- erty Fund. All references to archive materials, unless stated otherwise, are to Edward West- ermarck Collection at Åbo Akademi University Library, Manuscript and Picture Unit Collections. Introduction This book offers an overall interpretation of the Finnish sociologist, anthropolo- gist and philosopher Edward Westermarck’s (1862–1939) moral and social theory. The study has two main aims. First, it lays out the key features of Westermarck’s theory of how people make moral judgements, the nature of emotions in which these judgements are based, and the psychological and social elements influenc- ing them. At the same time, this study shows that Westermarck’s moral theory is an ambitious and wide-ranging analysis of the fundamentals of human social behaviour and social reality. By combining these moral-psychological and soci- ological aspects of Westermarck’s work, this book reconstructs his understand- ing of emotions, and the different forms of emotional contagion in particular, as the fundamental elements of human sociality. The second aim of this book is to explore Westermarck’s thought in the context of his main sources of inspiration, enabling a better understanding of his work. Westermarck’s theory of morality is based on a combination of eighteenth-century British moral philosophy, Darwin- ian evolutionism and the comparative method employed as a means of tracing resemblances and differences between different cultures and societies as well as human and animal behaviour. In this regard, this study highlights the importance of Darwinian evolutionary theory to the different aspects of Westermarck’s pro- ject. In addition, it demonstrates how Westermarck’s theory of moral emotions developed out of, and in response to, David Hume’s and Adam Smith’s study of moral sentiments. Taken as a whole, this book aims to show that one of the great strengths of Westermarck’s work is that he
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1904–2015 Christopher T
    Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1904–2015 Christopher T. Husbands Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1904–2015 Sound and Fury Christopher T. Husbands Emeritus Reader in Sociology London School of Economics and Political Science London, UK Additional material to this book can be downloaded from http://extras.springer.com. ISBN 978-3-319-89449-2 ISBN 978-3-319-89450-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89450-8 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018950069 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and trans- mission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    Dahlberg WHEN ARTISTS BECAME INTELLECTUALS: SCIENCE AS A SIGNIFICANT OTHER FOR THE FEMALE ARTISTIC PERSONA JULIA DAHLBERG ABSTRACT The increasing appreciation of science posed an interesting challenge to art in the late 19th Century. Modernisation, professionalisation, secularisation and technical novelties all seemed to question the social status of the artist. Arguing that one possible way for individual artists to meet this challenge was to incorporate elements of the scientific persona with their artistic self, this article focuses on the Swedish-speaking, Finnish artist and writer Helena Westermarck (1857–1938). While constructing an intellectual comradeship with her brother, the internationally well-known sociologist and anthropologist Edward Westermarck (1862–1939), Helena Westermarck often referred to the exceptional intellectual and analytical capacities of the artist. Arguing that the prestige of science could be used to lend credibility to the artistic persona, the article will discuss some of the ideas that led Westermarck to gradually fashion her public appearance as an artist into the persona of a public intellectual, writer and self-supporting (single) woman on equal terms with her brother. KEY WORDS Artistic Personas; Intellectuals; Intellect; Creativity; Science INTRODUCTION Just like two siblings of the same family, art and science often share a complex relationship. Not always bestowed with equal appreciation in different historical contexts, these two branches of human intellectual pursuits are capable of mutual support and fruitful creative co-operation at best, but also prone to rivalry and fierce competition under other circumstances. In the Romantic era, “the artist” enjoyed a strong position in popular imagination as a cultural hero of the time.
    [Show full text]
  • Anthropology in Spain and in Europe Finland
    Anthropology in Spain and in Europe Finland Ulrika Wolf-Knuts, Åbo Akademi University ([email protected]) In Finland we deal with three different denominations for the university disciplines falling under the title of our conference, Anthropology in Europe. Originally and very generally spoken, folklorists dealt with mental folk culture in Finland, such as ways of narrating, of believing in spiritual experiences, and of habits and customs. Ethnology concerned Finnish material folk culture and life modes, whereas anthropology, i.e. cultural anthropology and social anthropology, concerned non- European cultures. In practice, and nowadays, when established structures are thoroughly changed, the borders between the three disciplines are not at all sharp. As a matter of fact, anthropology inspire both folkloristics and ethnology when it comes to theories and methods, ethnologists do not stick to material culture, and folklorists are not happy with narratives or folk belief, only. Today the three disciplines have many topics, methods and theories in common. Everyday life is a central topic for investigations in all the three disciplines. The Finnish case of anthropology or ethnology is a matter of identity and therefore also a matter of contrasts. Language plays a great role in the formation of the discipline, as we shall see. Finland was part of Sweden until 1809, which meant that Swedish, after Latin, was the language of authorities, church and education. Nevertheless, the main language of the majority of the population was Finnish. After 1809 Finland became part of Russia, and thus there were three languages to deal with. In the beginning of the 19th century, national romantic ideas from Germany and Sweden were circulated through the only university in the Finnish part of the country, i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • Man and Culture : an Evaluation of the Work of Bronislaw Malinowski
    <r\ MAN AND CULTURE Contributors J. R. FIRTH RAYMOND FIRTH MEYER FORTES H. IAN HOGBIN PHYLLIS KABERRY E. R. LEACH LUCY MAIR S. F. NADEL TALCOTT PARSONS RALPH PIDDINGTON AUDREY I. RICHARDS I. SCHAPERA At the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association in 1939 at Chicago Photograph by Leslie A. White Man and Culture AN EVALUATION OF THE WORK OF BRONISLAW MALINOWSKI EDITED BY RAYMOND FIRTH Routledge & Kegan Paul LONDON First published ig^y by Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited Broadway House, 68-y4 Carter Lane London, E.C.4 (g) Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited ig^y Printed in Great Britain by Lowe & Brydone {Printers) Limited London, N.W.io Second impression ip3g Second impression with corrections ig6o GN msLFsi Contents EDITOR S NOTE VII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii REFERENCES viii Introduction: Malinowski as Scientist and as Man i RAYMOND FIRTH The Concept of Culture in Malinowski's Work 15 AUDREY I. RICHARDS MalinowskVs Theory of Needs 33 RALPH PIDDINGTON Malinowski and the Theory of Social Systems 53 TALCOTT PARSONS Malinowski's Contribution to Field-work Methods and the Writing of Ethnography 71 PHYLLIS KABERRY Ethnographic Analysis and Language with Reference to Malinowski's Views 93 J. R. FIRTH The Epistemological Background to MalinowskVs Empiricism 119 E. R. LEACH MalinowskVs Theories of Law 139 I, SCHAPERA Malinowski and the Study of Kinship 157 MEYER FORTES Malinowski on Magic and Religion 189 S. F. NADEL The Place of Malinowski in the History of Economic Anthro- pology 209 RAYMOND FIRTH Malinowski and the Study of Social Change 229 LUCY MAIR Anthropology as Public Service and MalinowskVs Contribution to it 245 H.
    [Show full text]
  • Edvard Westermarck Memorial Lecture: “Connected Sociologies: from Modernity to Postcolonial Critique”
    Edvard Westermarck Memorial Lecture: “Connected Sociologies: From Modernity to Postcolonial Critique” by Gurminder K Bhambra, University of Warwick Time & Location: 18.00‒19.00 Thursday 20.11.2014 University of Helsinki, Main Building, lecture hall XIV Note: On Friday 21.11.2014 there is additionally a one-day PhD seminar with professor Bhambra, more information below. Abstract for the Edvard Westermarck Memorial lecture From its inception, classical sociology has been less interested in the delineation of understandings of the global than in examining what were understood to be the European origins of global processes. The ‘global’ was merely the space in which processes initiated in Europe came to play out as ‘world-historical’. It was not until the global order constituted by colonialism visibly fractured in the post-war period that these other societies came into European and North American view in their own right. The convulsions in the early to mid- twentieth century of the two world wars and, in particular, the emergence of the competing regimes of fascism (defeated) and communism (resurgent), together with the movements of decolonisation, dramatically reconfigured the world. The beginnings of a decline of Western European hegemony and the shift in the landscape of the global, from being organised in colonial terms to being organised around (the desire for) nation-states, necessitated developments within sociology in order to address the limitations of post-classical accounts of modernity. Postcolonial and decolonial arguments have been most successful in their challenge to the insularity of historical narratives and historiographical traditions emanating from Europe. This has been particularly so in the context of demonstrating the parochial character of arguments about the endogenous European origins of modernity in favour of arguments that suggest the necessity of considering the emergence of the modern world in the broader histories of colonialism, empire, enslavement, and dispossession.
    [Show full text]
  • The Publishing and Reception of Queer Topics in Finland During the Interwar Years (And Beyond)
    Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies Faculty of Arts University of Helsinki Possibilities, Silences The Publishing and Reception of Queer Topics in Finland during the Interwar Years (and Beyond) Alexandra Stang ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be publicly discussed, by due permission of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki in auditorium XIV on the 27th of November 2015 at 12 o’clock. © Alexandra Stang ISBN 978-951-51-1729-8 (pbk.) ISBN 978-951-51-1730-4 (PDF) Unigrafia Helsinki 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................5 1.1 Background and Aims of the Study ..................................................................5 1.2 Methods, Theory and Terms ......................................................................... 22 1.2.1 Discourse and Power Relations .............................................................. 27 1.2.2 Questions of Gender in Literature ......................................................... 31 1.2.3 Heteronormativity and Possibilities of Queer Subversion ................... 40 1.3 Approaching the Archives............................................................................. 42 2 The Literary Field and Women’s Position within the National Project .............. 49 2.1 Questions of Female Decency and Literature in the Process of Finnish Nation-Building ............................................................................................... 49 2.2 The Ratification
    [Show full text]
  • Moral, Evolution Och Samhälle. Edvard Westermarck Och Hans Närmaste
    MORAL, EVOLUTION Red. Otto Pipatti & Petteri Pietikäinen Sociologen, antropologen och moralfilosofenEdvard Westermarck (1862–1939) var en av Finlands inter- nationellt mest kända forskare under 1900-talets första decennier. Han inspirerades av Charles Darwin i sin forskning om äktenskapets och moralens ursprung och OCH SAMHÄLLE utveckling, och hans evolutionsteoretiska forskningsgrepp bildade skola. Hans elever använde det evolutionistiska perspektivet för att undersöka ursprunget till vitt skilda fenomen, såsom religionen, samhällsklasserna, konsten, staten, migrationen och diplomatin. Författarna till antologin presenterar här den Wester- marckska skolans vetenskapliga arbete ur ett idéhistoriskt perspektiv. Boken lyfter också fram Westermarcks och hans närkrets samhällsengagemang, bland annat hans och hans närmaste krets Westermarck Edvard egna vetenskapliga argument för en liberalare syn på homosexualitet samt systern, författaren och konstnären FOTO JANNE RENTOLA. Helena Westermarcks emancipatoriska synpunkter i Bokens författare (fr.v.) Otto Pipatti, Julia Dahlberg, hennes skönlitterära produktion. Niina Timosaari-Hyry, Petteri Pietikäinen och Den Westermarckska skolans vetenskapliga arv föll Jouni Ahmajärvi. Antologin är ett resultat av deras i glömska efter andra världskriget men har fått ny forskningsprojekt ”Kretsen kring Edvard Westermarck aktualitet på senare år. I antologin får vi ta del av denna och det tidiga 1900-talets idélandskap”, som Moral, finansierades av Svenska litteratursällskapet i forskningstradition, som är
    [Show full text]
  • Mackinder, Westermarck and the Åland Question Heidi Öst
    Journal of Autonomy and Security Studies Vol. 1 Issue 2 Research Note: Mackinder, Westermarck and the Åland Question Heidi Öst Journal of Autonomy and Security Studies 1(2) 2017, 148 – 159. URL: http://jass.ax/volume-1-issue-2-Ost/ Keywords Aaland, Åbo Akademi, Åland, Åland Question, Fenno-scandia, Finland, Geopolitics, Lenin, London School of Economics, Mackinder, Walter Rhode, Westermarck, WWI 148 Journal of Autonomy and Security Studies Vol. 1 Issue 2 Research Note: Mackinder, Westermarck and the Åland Question Heidi Öst1 ”´You see those little holes?´ a local asked An American visitor to Lvov, on the disputed border between Russia and Poland. ´We call them here ´Wilson´s Points.´ They have been made with machine guns; the big gaps have been made with hand grenades. We are now engaged in self-determination, and God knows what and when the end will be.´”2 1. Introduction In the wake of last year’s award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos for his efforts to bring the country’s more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, the words of another Colombian Nobel Prize winner sprung to mind. Upon receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, Gabriel García Márquez lectured on the solitude of Latin America. The crux of that solitude being, he explained, the lack of conventional means to render the lives of some on the continent believable. Lives reflected, one may assume, through the characters in his famous novel from 1967, One Hundred Years of Solitude, members of the Buendía family in the fictive Macondo.
    [Show full text]
  • Gunnar Björlings Liv Och Verk Är Den Första Biografin Över Den Fin­ Landssvenske Författaren Gunnar Björling (1887–1960)
    ”Mitt språk är ej i orden.” Gunnar Björlings liv och verk är den första biografin över den fin­ landssvenske författaren Gunnar Björling (1887–1960). Numera betraktad som en av de främsta litterära modernisterna, fick Björling under sin livstid kämpa för att nå uppskatt­ ning och förståelse. Redan innan han 1922 som 35­åring debuterade som diktare, var han Fredrik i vänkretsen känd som ”profeten” och hade en Hertzberg avgörande betydelse i många unga människors liv. Så småningom sökte sig allt fler till hans diktarlya i Brunnsparken i Helsingfors, från 1930­talet utvidgades kretsen till författare och konstnärer från hela Norden. ”Mitt språk är ej i orden” är en kronolo­ gisk framställning av Björlings liv och verk. Foto Janne Rentola Boken bygger på omfattande forskning i arkiv i Finland och Sverige och på intervjuer med MITT ” Fredrik Hertzberg FREDRIK HERTZBERG, född i Hel­ personer som kände Björling. Här belyses SPRÅK singfors 1966, är litteraturvetare Björlings personlighet från olika håll. Vi får och kritiker. Hertzberg disputerade ta del av Björling som ung socialist, aktivist, ÄR EJ I i engelska vid State University of auskultant, filosof, profet, mystiker, modernist, ORDEN New York at Buffalo 2001 och i lit­ växel ryttare, mentor, recitatör och erotiker. ” teraturvetenskap vid Åbo Akademi För första gången behandlas Björlings homo­ ” 2003. Ämnet för båda doktorsav­ GUNNAR MITT handlingarna är estetisk och social sexualitet och förälskelser mera ingående i BJÖRLINGS materialitet i förhållande till över­ ljuset av tidigare okänt material. sättning av poesi, med särskild hän­ LIV OCH syn till Gunnar Björling. SPRÅK En stor del av Hertzbergs forsk­ VERK ning är ägnad finlandssvensk moder­ nism, i synnerhet Gunnar Björlings författarskap.
    [Show full text]
  • Papua: the ‘Unknown’
    Chapter 1 Papua: the ‘unknown’ Although the title of his landmark study was The Kiwai Papuans of British New Guinea (Landtman 1927), the southeastern part of the island of New Guinea officially became Papua in 1906 when administrative responsibility for the colony passed from the Colonial Office in London to the Commonwealth Government of the newly federated Australia. The Western Division of Papua where Landtman undertook his research between 1910 and 1912 was administrated from a small colonial outpost on the offshore island of Daru. Although the region is now the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, Daru remains the administrative centre for the vast, largely undeveloped tracts of savannah lowlands, riverine plains and mountains between the Torres Strait, in the south, to the Star Mountains at the western end of the New Guinea Highlands, in the north. A geographical perspective Geographically, the Torres Strait and Fly estuary region where Landtman chose to work is extremely varied. Papua New Guinea’s longest river, the Fly River, and the largest lake, Lake Murray, are both in this province and the Fly River effectively divides the region in two. South of the Fly is the Oriomo Plateau, a generally featureless undulating ridge bordered in the north by the middle Fly and in the south by a narrow coastal plain. Soils on the coastal plain are poor, mostly clay, and easily become water-logged. This narrow coastal plain is often only three kilometers wide and three metres above mean sea level. The coast is fringed by mangroves and littoral woodlands but along the Oriomo ridge and inland away from the coastal swamps and rivers are some areas of good gardening land.
    [Show full text]
  • The Incest Taboo: a Collection of Disaster Theories
    The Incest Taboo: a collection of disaster theories y Sexual competition in family y Marry out or die out y Terminological confusion y Freud’s Oedipus and Electra Complexes y Inbreeding depression y The Westermarck’s Effect Incest and the Marital Universe Exogamy boundary: one must marry outside Nuclear this group Family Endogamy boundary: one must marry inside this group Terms coined by McLennan in 1865 in reference to descent groups A distinction Incest deals with the prohibition of sexual relations Rules of exogamy and endogamy define the universe of legitimate mates In some societies one can have sex with an individual but cannot marry them Standard range of the incest taboo in the US. Red is almost universally* prohibited while yellow is sometimes prohibited. *Uncle‐niece sometimes possible Cousins Schwimmer at http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/tutor/image_list/index.html In the Old Testament cousin marriages of any type were allowed, and in fact there Leviticus 18 was a preference for patrilateral parallel cousin marriage, i.e., a union between the children of two brothers, in some circumstances. (This arrangement involved marriage within a patrilineal group and indicates that descent groups in this instance were not exogamous.) Moreover, there was no explicit rule against sexual relations or marriages between uncles and nieces, although aunt/nephew prohibitions are specified. This asymmetry seems to be related to a preference for men to marry women of younger generations. Rules in Leviticus Schwimmer at http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/tutor/image_list/index.html Marriage Laws y Biblical: extensive bans on affinal marriages but no ban on cousin marriage.
    [Show full text]
  • An Anthropological View on the Taboo Incest As a Mean for Maintaining Social and Family Order
    Advances in Anthropology, 2019, 9, 169-189 https://www.scirp.org/journal/aa ISSN Online: 2163-9361 ISSN Print: 2163-9353 An Anthropological View on the Taboo Incest as a Mean for Maintaining Social and Family Order Rachel Sharaby Department of Sociology, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel How to cite this paper: Sharaby, R. (2019). Abstract An Anthropological View on the Taboo Incest as a Mean for Maintaining Social Incest was and is a universal taboo in human society. It is stigmatized as a and Family Order. Advances in Anthro- deviation and leads to sanctions, in particular when minors are involved. Oral pology, 9, 169-189. and written stories and narratives are stories that interpret and shape reality https://doi.org/10.4236/aa.2019.94012 through the prism of power relations in society. In the present study, I carried Received: August 25, 2019 out narrative analysis of incest stories in Hebrew Bible texts, those primordial Accepted: October 18, 2019 stories and myths that shaped human society today. The article shows that Published: October 21, 2019 incest was taboo from the onset, and is one of the seven Noahide laws. How- ever, the social order was undermined already after the story of Creation: Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. consanguineous marriages; sexual relations between a son and his stepmoth- This work is licensed under the Creative er, between a father and his daughters, and between a father and his daugh- Commons Attribution International ter-in-law. The analysis shows that the brevity and ambiguity that character- License (CC BY 4.0).
    [Show full text]