The decline of yuck: Moral judgment in the anthropocene
Section snippets
Made out of meat
Imagine the following scenario, as a preparation for this investigation. A craft of extraterrestrials lands on Earth and interacts with human beings from various regions of the planet. According to Bison [10]; the conversation between the visiting aliens and their senior officer once the reconnaissance mission is completed would go something like this:
“They're made out of meat.”
“Meat?”
“Meat. They're made out of meat.”
“Meat?”
“There's no doubt about it. We picked up several from different parts
The nature of disgust
Etymologically, disgust means bad taste, from the French dégoûter. Both the emotion of disgust and taste are processed in the brain by the anterior insula, and people who have acute senses of taste also tend to find more things disgusting. The experience of disgust is typically accompanied by the “gape face,” in which the nose and upper brow are wrinkled and the tongue is extruded, which mimics the facial movements associated with retching.
There is a widespread tendency of disgust at exposure
Disgust in the Anthropocene
The Anthropocene, commonly considered the current geological age, is defined by the dominant and enduring impact of human beings on the planet's biomes, atmosphere, and geological strata. Owing to the technological supplementation, alteration, augmentation and supersession of human traits and capacities, the Anthropocene is also widely understood to signal the enduring impact of technology on humanity. The Anthropocene marks a demonstrably humanized and synthetized world, a global age of
Conclusion
Millennia ago, the fur-like hair covering our ancestors’ short, stooped bodies began to thin once they dropped down from the trees to amble about on the African savannah and eventually migrate to other continents. Fur-covered bodies no longer served hominins well, and was selected out. In like manner, the capacity for disgust will wane as human beings become more immersed in technology and less beholden to the emotional reactions of thinking meat.
Given its origins as a selective force, we would
Leslie Paul Thiele is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Florida. He serves as Director of the Sustainability Studies program and the Center for Adaptive Innovation, Resilience, Ethics and Science (UF CAIRES). His interdisciplinary research and teaching focus on political thought, sustainability, technology, and the intersection of political philosophy and the natural sciences. His central concerns are the responsibilities of citizenship and
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Leslie Paul Thiele is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Florida. He serves as Director of the Sustainability Studies program and the Center for Adaptive Innovation, Resilience, Ethics and Science (UF CAIRES). His interdisciplinary research and teaching focus on political thought, sustainability, technology, and the intersection of political philosophy and the natural sciences. His central concerns are the responsibilities of citizenship and the opportunities for leadership in a world of rapid technological, social, and ecological change. He has published 9 books, including The Art and Craft of Political Theory (Routledge 2019).