The History Of Human Marriage
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The History Of Human Marriage
''The History of Human Marriage'' is an 1891 book by the Finnish philosopher and anthropologist Edvard Westermarck that, in the three-volume 1922 edition, 'attempt(s) a grand synthesis ... an overview of the entire world history of the institution, ...' Blankenhorn 2007. pp. 9-10. The Finnish philosopher Jaakko Hintikka calls the work a monumental study and a classic in its field, but notes that it is now antiquated. Summary In the book, Westermarck defined marriage as "a more or less durable connection between male and female lasting beyond the mere act of propagation till after the birth of the offspring." Westermarck argues that marriage is a social institution that rests on a biological foundation, and developed through a process in which human males came to live together with human females for sexual gratification, companionship, mutual economic aid, procreation, and the joint rearing of offspring. Blankenhorn 2007. p. 37. Besides other observations and propositions, W ...
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Edvard Westermarck
Edvard Alexander Westermarck (20 November 1862 in Helsinki – 3 September 1939 in Tenala) was a Finnish philosopher and sociologist. Among other subjects, he studied exogamy and the incest taboo. Biography Westermarck was born in 1862 in a well-off Lutheran family, part of the Swedish-speaking population of Finland. His father worked at the University of Helsinki as a bursar, and his maternal grandfather was a professor at the same university. It was thus natural for Edvard to study there, obtaining his first degree in philosophy in 1886, but developing also an interest in anthropology and reading the works of Charles Darwin. His thesis, The History of Human Marriage, was published as a book in 1891, and would be published again in a substantially revised edition in 1921. In 1892, Westermarck became a lecturer in Sociology at the University of Helsinki. While at the university, he became the chairman of the Prometheus Society, a student society promoting religious freedom. H ...
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Marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and between them and their Affinity (law), in-laws. It is nearly a cultural universal, but the definition of marriage varies between cultures and religions, and over time. Typically, it is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual, are acknowledged or sanctioned. In some cultures, marriage is recommended or considered to be Premarital sex, compulsory before pursuing sexual activity. A marriage ceremony is called a wedding, while a private marriage is sometimes called an elopement. Around the world, there has been a general trend towards ensuring Women's rights, equal rights for women and ending discrimination and harassment against couples who are Interethnic marriage, interethnic, Interracial marriage, interracial, In ...
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Jaakko Hintikka
Kaarlo Jaakko Juhani Hintikka (; ; 12 January 1929 – 12 August 2015) was a Finnish philosopher and logician. Hintikka is regarded as the founder of formal epistemic logic and of game semantics for logic. Life and career Hintikka was born in Helsingin maalaiskunta (now Vantaa). In 1953, he received his doctorate from the University of Helsinki for a thesis entitled ''Distributive Normal Forms in the Calculus of Predicates''. He was a student of Georg Henrik von Wright. Hintikka was a Junior Fellow at Harvard University (1956-1969), and held several professorial appointments at the University of Helsinki, the Academy of Finland, Stanford University, Florida State University and finally Boston University from 1990 until his death. He was the prolific author or co-author of over 30 books and over 300 scholarly articles, Hintikka contributed to mathematical logic, philosophical logic, the philosophy of mathematics, epistemology, language theory, and the philosophy of scienc ...
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Sexual Attraction
Sexual attraction is attraction on the basis of sexual desire or the quality of arousing such interest. Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal is an individual's ability to attract other people sexually, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context where they appear. The attraction may be to a person's aesthetics, movements, voice, among other things. The attraction may be enhanced by a person's body odor, sex pheromones, adornments, clothing, perfume or hair style. It can be influenced by individual genetic, psychological, or cultural factors, or to other, more amorphous qualities. Sexual attraction is also a response to another person that depends on a combination of the person possessing the traits and on the criteria of the person who is attracted. Though attempts have been made to devise objective criteria of sexual attractiveness and measure it ...
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Incest Taboo
Incest ( ) is sex between close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineage. It is condemned and considered immoral in many societies. It can lead to an increased risk of genetic disorders in children in case of pregnancy from incestuous sex. The incest taboo is one of the most widespread of all cultural taboos, both in present and in past societies. Most modern societies have laws regarding incest or social restrictions on closely consanguineous marriages. In societies where it is illegal, consensual adult incest is seen by some as a victimless crime. Some cultures extend the incest taboo to relatives with no consanguinity, such as milk-siblings, stepsiblings, and adoptive siblings, albeit sometimes with less intensity. Third-degree relatives (such as half-aunt, half-nephew, first cousin) on average have 12.5% common genetic herita ...
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Westermarck Effect
The Westermarck effect, also known as reverse sexual imprinting, is a psychological hypothesis that states that people tend not to be Sexual attraction, attracted to peers with whom they lived like siblings before the age of six. This hypothesis was first proposed by Finnish anthropologist Edvard Westermarck in his 1891 book, ''The History of Human Marriage'', as one explanation for the incest taboo. Research since Westermarck The Westermarck effect has gained some empirical support.''Inbreeding, Incest, and the Incest Taboo: The State of Knowledge at the Turn of the Century'', Arthur P. Wolf and William H. Durham (Editors), Stanford University Press, 2004, . Introduction Proponents point to evidence from the Israeli kibbutz system, from Chinese Tongyangxi, Shim-pua marriage customs, and from closely related families. In the case of the Israeli kibbutzim (collective farms), children were reared somewhat communally in peer groups, based on age, not biological relations. A study ...
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Sexual Imprinting
In psychology and ethology, imprinting is a relativly rapid learning process that occurs during a particular Developmental psychology, developmental phase or stage of life and leads to corresponding behavioural adaptations. Originally, the term was used to describe situations in which an animal or human internalises (learns) the characteristics of a perceived object, independent of a theory of psychological development occurring in phases (critical period). Even ancient philosophers speculated about the material nature of the memory what would be necessary for the lerning process, assuming a kind of tabula rasa in the brain like consisting of clay or wax and empty until an experience were mechanicaly "imprinted" on it. More recently, the founder of psychoanalysis developed the thesis that the brain can store experiences in its neural network through "a permanent change after an event", providing the first scientific explanation of how imprinting work. Filial imprinting The best ...
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David Blankenhorn
David Blankenhorn (born 1955) is an American political activist who is the founder and president of the Institute for American Values and the co-founder of Braver Angels. He is also co-director of The Marriage Opportunity Council and the author of ''Fatherless America'' and ''The Future of Marriage''. A noted figure in the campaign against same-sex marriage in the United States, his position changed and he voiced support of legalizing same-sex marriage in June 2012. Biography Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Blankenhorn received a bachelor's degree in Social Studies, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1977; he was also awarded a master's degree, with distinction, in Comparative Social History from University of Warwick in Coventry. Blankenhorn served as a VISTA volunteer and was involved in community organizing. Blankenhorn founded the Institute for American Values, a nonpartisan think tank whose stated mission is to "study and strengthen key American values", in 1987. ...
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Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic philosophy.Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy"Bertrand Russell", 1 May 2003. He was one of the early 20th century's prominent logicians and a founder of analytic philosophy, along with his predecessor Gottlob Frege, his friend and colleague G. E. Moore, and his student and protégé Ludwig Wittgenstein. Russell with Moore led the British "revolt against British idealism, idealism". Together with his former teacher Alfred North Whitehead, A. N. Whitehead, Russell wrote ''Principia Mathematica'', a milestone in the development of classical logic and a major attempt to reduce the whole of mathematics to logic (see logicism). Russell's article "On Denoting" has been considered a "paradigm of philosophy". Russell was a Pacifism, pacifist who ...
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Marriage And Morals
''Marriage and Morals'' is a 1929 book by philosopher Bertrand Russell, in which the author questions the Victorian notions of morality regarding sex and marriage. Russell argues that the laws and ideas about sex of his time were a potpourri from various sources and were no longer valid. The subjects range from criticisms of social norms, theories about their origins and tendencies, evolutionary psychology, and instinctual attachment to children (or lack thereof), among others. Notably, the book found marital rape to be common, stating: "Marriage is for woman the commonest mode of livelihood, and the total amount of undesired sex endured by women is probably greater in marriage than in prostitution." Russell also argues for increased availability of birth control, the decriminalization of homosexuality, improved sex education, elimination of obscenity laws, easier access to divorce, and greater freedom of women to pursue their own interests and careers. Cultural response ''Ma ...
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