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The phrase "Index of Taboo" typically refers to the Index Librorum Prohibitorum
(List of Prohibited Books), but in modern contexts, it most frequently refers to the popular Japanese light novel and anime franchise, A Certain Magical Index (Toaru Majutsu no禁書目録 (Indekkusu)). The Character: Index Librorum Prohibitorum
In the series, "Index" is the name of the female protagonist, a young nun from the Church of England. She is the literal "Index of Prohibited Books" because she has Perfect Memory
, allowing her to store 103,000 forbidden magical grimoires within her mind.
These books are considered "taboo" because they contain knowledge too dangerous for normal humans; reading even one can drive a person insane or cause severe physical strain
. Consequently, Index is a living library of forbidden knowledge, making her a target for various magical and scientific factions Psychological & Scientific "Taboo Indices"
Outside of fiction, the concept of an "index of taboo" appears in recent psychological research regarding academic self-censorship The 10 Taboo Conclusions
: Researchers have identified a set of "taboo conclusions" within U.S. psychology. These are empirical findings or theories that many professors believe to be true but fear discussing due to potential social and professional sanctions. Key Forbidden Topics
: These often involve sensitive subjects like genetic influences on intelligence, evolutionary explanations for gender differences, and the impact of demographic diversity on workplace performance.
: Studies show that both tenured and untenured professors report high levels of fear—including the fear of being fired—if they were to openly express these "taboo" beliefs. Cultural Historical Taboos index of taboo
Historically, cultures have maintained their own "indices" of forbidden behavior or language: Naming Taboos : In ancient China, the practice of
made it taboo to speak or write the names of emperors or ancestors, leading to serious legal consequences for violators. Media Censorship
: Historically, government boards (like the Motion Picture Division in New York) maintained strict indices of "indecent" representations that had to be removed from films before public screening. Are you interested in the storyline of the anime , or were you looking for more sociological data on modern cultural taboos? Taboos and Self-Censorship Among U.S. Psychology Professors
The "Index of Taboo" refers to a framework used in a major 2024 study titled Taboos and Self-Censorship Among U.S. Psychology Professors [12]. It identifies 10 specific empirical conclusions that are considered socially or professionally "forbidden" to support in modern academia [5.1, 5.12]. 🛑 The Academic Taboo Conclusions
The study identified 10 candidate conclusions where professors often self-censor due to fear of social sanctions [5.1, 5.3]:
Evolutionary Psychology: Suggesting sexually coercive behavior conferred evolutionary advantages to men [5.1].
Gender in STEM: Asserting that gender bias is not the primary driver of women's under-representation in STEM [5.1].
Academic Discrimination: Identifying systemic discrimination against Black people in hiring or grants [5.1].
Biological Sex: Maintaining that biological sex is binary for the vast majority of people [5.1]. The phrase "Index of Taboo" typically refers to
Political Bias: Claiming that social sciences discriminate against conservative researchers [5.1].
Crime Statistics: Suggesting racial bias is not the main driver of higher crime rates among specific groups [5.1].
Psychological Differences: Proposing that men and women have different psychological traits due to evolution [5.1].
Intelligence Variance: Attributing non-trivial variance in race differences in IQ scores to genetic factors [5.1].
Transgender Identity: Suggesting that transgender identity can sometimes be a product of social influence [5.1].
Workplace Diversity: Concluding that demographic diversity can lead to worse team performance [5.1]. 📈 Impact on Research
The report from PMC highlights several consequences of these taboos [5.1, 5.3]:
Self-Censorship: Almost all surveyed professors worry about social sanctions for expressing their true empirical beliefs [5.3].
Sanction Fear: Both tenured and untenured professors report an equal fear of professional consequences, including being fired [5.3]. Item: [word/act/gesture] Category: [e
Consensus Bias: When researchers hide "taboo" findings, it creates an artificial scientific consensus that may not reflect actual data [5.3]. 🌍 Broader Context: Global Taboos
While the "Index" specifically targets academic psychology, broader social taboos are categorized by their function in society [5.5, 5.9]:
Religious: Restrictions on diet (e.g., pork in Islam) or entering sacred spaces [5.5, 5.9].
Sexual: Prohibitions on incest, adultery, or certain types of relationships [5.5, 5.10].
Bodily/Medical: Historical and modern stigmas around menstruation, death, and mental health [5.4, 5.11].
Social Manners: Cultural rules like not wearing shoes in a house or avoiding specific gestures [5.5].
💡 Key Takeaway: Modern taboos have shifted from religious "sacred vs. profane" boundaries to moral and political "identity-based" boundaries [5.9].
To customize this report, would you like to focus on modern workplace taboos, historical religious taboos, or educational policies regarding controversial topics?
If you are interested in evolutionary psychology, sociology, or modern discourse, you are likely looking for the concept popularized by Dr. Gad Saad (author of The Parasitic Mind).
He developed a metric often referred to as an "Index of Ostrich Parasitic Syndrome" or simply a scale of "Taboo" ideas. This measures the likelihood of a topic being suppressed, censored, or treated as taboo within a society.