One of the few questions that have engaged the attention of philosophers and the theologians as well as social and biological scientists is the origins of the nearly universal prohibition on sexual relations between close relatives. Until only a few years ago the central question was: Is the prohibition constructed to protect human beings from a natural inclination to mate and marry their close relatives or is the prohibition rooted in a sexual aversion aroused by early childhood association? In other words, does the incest taboo repress or express a natural human tendency? Evidence from studies in Israel and Taiwan has shown that children reared together from an early age develop an aversion to sexual relations. Most scientists agree that the ultimate cause is the dangers of inbreeding. But the proximate cause is the subject of this project. The primary purpose of this project is to examine Taiwanese minor marriages (where the bride is reared from a young age as a sibling of the groom). Household registers compiled by the Japanese colonial government make it possible to reconstruct the families in which couples married in the minor fashion were reared and determine whether or not their parents married in the minor fashion and with what result. This creates the possibility of determining what it is about early association that is heritable.
Broader impact. The broader implication of the research concerns our understanding of human sexuality in general. It is very unlikely that incest is an isolated aspect of human sexuality. Evidence concerning the conditions that do or do not inhibit sexual attractions among close relatives will be of general interest because it is certain to have implications for our understanding of sexual attraction in general.
