From Westermarck's Effect to Fox's Law: paradox and principle in the relationship between incest taboos and exogamy

Various theories that purport to explain the relationship between incest ta boos and exogamous marriage customs are reviewed. These include sociologica l, psychological, and sociobiological approaches. Each of these approaches poses challenges not easily addressed by its competitors and yet no satisfa ctory synthesis seems available given the currently existing explanatory pa radigms. It is argued here that exogamy is not a simple outgrowth of incest taboos and incest taboos ave not a simple extenuation of inbreeding avoida nce. Relationships between the sociobiology of inbreeding avoidance and ser ial institutions such as exogamy and incest taboos ave recast with the help of evolutionary psychology, which provides additional tools with which to approach this complex and contradictory set of interlocking problems.