ABSTRACT
Edward Westermarck was the first sociologist to bring a type of Darwinian reasoning into sociology and anthropology that foreshadowed the thinking in current sociobiology and evolutionary psychology. His thesis later came into conflict with other explanations, especially the dominant Freudian and functionalist anthropological views. This chapter follows Wilson's engagement with Westermarck's thesis, and especially the Westermarck effect, in Wilson's books and articles from 1975 to 2012. It examines the particular role the Westermarck's effect has been given on different points in his evolving sociobiological programme. In Sociobiology, Wilson addresses the issue of incest largely from the perspectives of genetics, population genetics and ethology. Promethean Fire is a popular book with the aim to explicate many of the technical sounding points in Genes, Mind, and Culture. In fact, the book's two final chapters are devoted to an intimate discussion of brother-sister incest avoidance.
