i have thought about this question a lot. i don't think it pays to reject hypotheses too early, becos i think 'pedophilia' is best thought of as multidimensional & multifaceted.
there are several categories of explanation that i think are productive, and also several orthogonal axes along which explanations can be situated, without affecting the validity of other explanations.
eg: the question is pedophilia adaptive? (yes or no) provides a basis for the following responses:
- yes leading to the obvious question: what might its adaptive advantages be?
- neither meaning it is a by product of other adaptations, a 'spandrel' with no particular contribution to genetic fitness, or
- no meaning it's pathological; the most popular theory, but the one with least theoretical support.
anyway, i have to go. more soon.