Chapter 40
Repugnance
People Affected: men
Type of Emotion: sensory punishment
Sensory Trigger: sexual pleasure triggered by women a man lived with prior to age 6 years
Mental Effect: negative
Key Feature: the stronger the pleasure, the stronger the effect
Type of Emotion: sensory punishment
Sensory Trigger: sexual pleasure triggered by women a man lived with prior to age 6 years
Mental Effect: negative
Key Feature: the stronger the pleasure, the stronger the effect
Purpose
Repugnance encourages men to avoid incest.
Female repugnance did not evolve. Female repugnance did not evolve because male repugnance did. Only one gender needs to leave to avoid incest.
The gender difference can be seen when siblings start dating. Boys are uncomfortable when other boys date their sisters. Girls are not uncomfortable when other girls date their brothers.
Sensory Trigger
Repugnance encourages men to avoid incest.
Female repugnance did not evolve. Female repugnance did not evolve because male repugnance did. Only one gender needs to leave to avoid incest.
The gender difference can be seen when siblings start dating. Boys are uncomfortable when other boys date their sisters. Girls are not uncomfortable when other girls date their brothers.
Sensory Trigger
Repugnance is triggered when men feel sexual pleasure triggered by women they lived with prior to age 6 years. Simply put, men feel repugnance when they imagine their mother or sister naked.
Prior to age 6 is a proxy for kin. Prior to age 6, boys primarily interact with siblings. After age 6, they begin interacting with non-siblings. Schooling usually starts at age 6.
This negative sexual imprinting was first suggested by Edward Westermark who noted the “remarkable lack of erotic feelings between people who have been living closely together since childhood”. Robin Fox found supporting evidence in Israeli kibbutzim. Unrelated toddlers raised together in a kibbutz never date or marry, as described in Sibling Incest (British Journal of Sociology).
Repugnance is not triggered in fathers. Daughters are not alive when fathers were 0-6 years old.
Repugnance is not triggered in brothers that are 6 or more years older. Younger sisters were not alive when older brothers were 0-6 years old.
Fathers and older brothers were not a problem in the past. Fathers would have moved on to a new woman long before their daughters reached puberty. Older brothers would have left home when they reached puberty.
Repugnance is not triggered by other behaviors, like homosexuality. Incest triggers repugnance because it produces defective offspring. Homosexuality does not produce defective offspring.
Mental Effect
Prior to age 6 is a proxy for kin. Prior to age 6, boys primarily interact with siblings. After age 6, they begin interacting with non-siblings. Schooling usually starts at age 6.
This negative sexual imprinting was first suggested by Edward Westermark who noted the “remarkable lack of erotic feelings between people who have been living closely together since childhood”. Robin Fox found supporting evidence in Israeli kibbutzim. Unrelated toddlers raised together in a kibbutz never date or marry, as described in Sibling Incest (British Journal of Sociology).
Repugnance is not triggered in fathers. Daughters are not alive when fathers were 0-6 years old.
Repugnance is not triggered in brothers that are 6 or more years older. Younger sisters were not alive when older brothers were 0-6 years old.
Fathers and older brothers were not a problem in the past. Fathers would have moved on to a new woman long before their daughters reached puberty. Older brothers would have left home when they reached puberty.
Repugnance is not triggered by other behaviors, like homosexuality. Incest triggers repugnance because it produces defective offspring. Homosexuality does not produce defective offspring.
Mental Effect
The strength of repugnance varies with the sexual pleasure triggered. The stronger the sexual pleasure, the stronger the negative effect. Men feel weak repugnance if they see their sister wearing tight clothes. They feel stronger repugnance if they see their sister naked. Repugnance increases to discourage the escalation of sexual interest.
Happiness Dissected is a more practical version of The Origin of Emotions.
