The French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss says that the incest taboo is universal because humans:
a. are instinctively opposed to inbreeding through biological programming.
b. repress their sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex and thus learn how to control sexual behavior from birth.
c. have learned to establish alliances with strangers and thereby share and develop culture.
d. prefer to marry their brothers and sisters and must use culture to regulate sexual access and avoid inbreeding. e. do not like sex.
Question 2
Regarding cousin marriage, which of the following statements is incorrect?
a. The U.S. is the only Western country that has laws against first-cousin marriage.
b. In the U.S., 19 states permit first-cousin marriage.
c. Genetic research does not show that there is marked increase in inheritable weakness for children of first cousins.
d. Laws against first-cousin marriage in the U.S. were enacted the popularity of evolutionary theories.
e. In the U.S., some states have no laws prohibiting marriage between relatives.
Martian tripod illustration from the 1906 French edition of The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.
Claude Monet, Water Lilies, Morning: Willows (central section and right side).
Claude Monet, The Railroad Bridge, Argenteuil.
Claude Monet, Carnival on the Boulevard des Capucines.
Some Universal Expressions