Primal — Taboo

In the 21st century, we claim to be rational. We know that consensual incest between adults, while rare, is not physically harmful in every case (if no reproduction occurs). We know that a corpse is just organic matter. We know that cannibalism, absent prions, is just protein.

The primal taboo against necrophilia, or even simple mutilation of a corpse, is a taboo against confusing the categories . A dead human is not an object. To treat it as a sex object or a plaything is to deny the humanity that once animated it. This is why the ancient Egyptians preserved bodies with obsessive care, and why modern outrage over the mishandling of war dead is so intense. The taboo protects the dignity of the person beyond biological death. primal taboo

The answer is complex. In their literal form, no. Mainstream society still recoils from actual incest, actual cannibalism, and actual patricide. However, in their symbolic form, they are being deconstructed. In the 21st century, we claim to be rational