Is Heterosexuality Inherited?
A work in progress Seems to be a commonsense belief that heterosexuality is genetically inherited, although there seems to be some controversy as to whether homosexuality is. In this paper, I want to explore whether heterosexuality is in fact genetically inherited. Assume that heterosexuality is the desire to have sex with members of the opposite sex substantially more than the desire to have sex with members of the same sex. And assume that this desire persists throughout the sexual life of the person. The standard for a desire that is persistent throughout the life of the person and that is genetically inherited is hunger. We all agree that hunger is a desire that we have that persists throughout our lives, and that that desire is inherited. Heterosexuality, then, is inherited only if there are hypothetical situations where we would have heterosexuality without the opposite sex, and these situations are relevantly similar to hypothetical situations where we would have hunger without
