The Difficulty Of Winning An Argument

“The only path by which another person can upset you is through your own thought.” (Joseph Murphy)

“A portrait of an old man with a beard looking through a magnifying glass.” by mari lezhava on Unsplash

Consider the following story:

Julie and Mark are sister and brother. They are traveling together in France on summer vacation from college. One night they are staying alone in a cabin near the beach. They decided it would be interesting and fun if they tried making love. At the very least, it would be a new experience for each of them. Julie is already on birth control pills, but Mark uses a condom, too, just to be safe. They both enjoy making love, but decide not to do it again. They keep that night as a special secret, which makes them feel even closer to each other.

Do you think it is acceptable for two consenting adults, who happened to be siblings, to make love? If you’re like most people, you immediately answered no. But how would you justify that judgment? People often reach first for the argument that incestuous sex leads to offspring that suffer genetic abnormalities. When I point out that the siblings used two forms of birth control, however, no one says, “Oh, well, in that case it’s okay.” Instead, people begin searching for other arguments, for example, “It’s going to harm their relationship.” When I responded that in this case the sex has made the relationship stronger, people just scratch their heads, frown, and say…