Re: [asa] Nature editorial

I've had a look. It is a survey of disgust research and generally
takes the position that disgust, while it may have had adaptive value
for protecting against poisonings, also played a mostly negative role
in the development of in group - out group relationships in Homo
sapiens: "their work casts doubt on the idea that disgust embodies a
deep-seated wisdom. Instead it provides an emerging portrait of an
evolutionarily constrained emotion that is a poor guide to ethical
action." Essentially, because disgust is so strong an emotion,
propagandists can get maximum effect for their case by linking a
people group to, say, cockroaches. Bookended by quotes from
bioethicist Leon Kass, who is portrayed in the article (fairly or not)
as pro-disgust.

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Received on Fri Jun 15 10:38:39 2007