why is incest wrong?

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Society views incest is wrong because the vast majority of people have the natural human instinct to avoid incest. You'll find most higher animals also have similar instincts.

Only if there is a wide selection of potential mates about. Which isn't\wasn't true in many societies. And even then your claim is dubious... It is 'wrong' because it represents "Closedness" to the world. It's interesting to note most of things the society considers Paraphilias Incest is the only one isn't considered related to Urban Bohemians but rather Rednecks.

* - If you want to be really technically, every single sexual relationship is incentous as every human being is related via the same Mother going back when Homo Sapiens were a minor tribe of hominids in the Sands of East Africa.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Society views incest is wrong because the vast majority of people have the natural human instinct to avoid incest. You'll find most higher animals also have similar instincts.

Only if there is a wide selection of potential mates about. Which isn't\wasn't true in many societies. And even then your claim is dubious...

Well, I meant direct siblings and parents - cousin marriages have been rather common throughout history for the reason you stated above. Sibling/Parental incest is generally considered disgusting and therefore "wrong" due to our instincts, but I'd say the stigma against cousin incest is mainly a cultural phenomenon.

Usually in most societies that is the case though in some Sister-Brother marriages aren't totally unheard of. Never heard of a society where relations between a Mother and Son were not totally taboo.

Of course then there is sexual abuse; which just adds to the notion that the stigma is mainly societal and 'natural' (whatever that is.)

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Well Tweed, no-one is told in school "Incest is wrong". Anyway Education is more subtle than that. But given that most school system in Ireland (and I imagine from what I have read, the US) pretend sex does not exist until you are 16 and half-pregnant\nearly a father it is not an issue.

I also doubt that believing Incest is wrong is the most irrational thing you believe.

As for an actual answer, That's beyond me. Though as I said Incest is often associated with Rural hicks - perhaps those with more time, less brain and less potential mates than someone living in a city or a massive extension to a city like LI.

I also doubt that 'nature' has anything to do with. The second law of internet debating (the first being Godwin o\c) is that when people say "Human Nature" they mean "Stuff which seems normal to me".