Steven, thanks for reading and commenting. Your points about human nature and broadening experience are well taken. Have to ask though — did you actually try the experiments or did you just read about them? I may (or may not) be a lot more experience with “the other” than you seem to assume. What I found when I experimented on myself surprised me — that despite my experiences and my abstract beliefs, I felt differently about almost every group I could think of. Variation is a telling observation. The sources of such variance are not necessarily direct experience although they certainly can be.

As far as what’s natural, I find myself associating experience from all sources in a jumbled up way. For instance I experienced a medical emergency years ago after eating liver and even writing about liver now turns my stomach! No rational connection but it is truly viseral. Thanks again.