__top__ - Primal Taboo

The resurgence of "purity culture" in various online subcultures, the rise of disgust as a political tool, and the intense moral panics of the digital age suggest that humans need primal taboos. We cannot live in a world of total permission. The brain's cognitive immune system will simply invent new taboos to replace the old ones.

But what exactly constitutes a primal taboo? Unlike modern prohibitions—such as speeding or tax evasion—primal taboos are not arbitrary rules. They are the structural "dont's" of the human species, the invisible electric fences that separate us from the chaotic state of nature. They are the original sins, the acts so destabilizing that early human groups could not survive their commission. primal taboo