The strange politics of disgust | David Pizarro

Giulia Tofana: The Perfumer Who Poisoned

Introduction to Giulia Tofana

• Giulia Tofana was a successful perfumer in the 17th century, running her business for over 50 years.

• Her career ended abruptly when she was executed for allegedly murdering 600 men using her product.

• The perfume she sold was odorless, tasteless, and colorless but served as a highly effective poison.

The Role of Poisoning in Society

• Women sought out Tofana's poison primarily to murder their husbands, indicating a societal context where such actions were considered.

• Poisoners held a unique status; they were both valued and feared due to the complexities involved in successfully poisoning someone.

Disgust as an Emotion

• Disgust is not only a response to potential poisoning but also extends to moral beliefs and political intuitions.

• Basic human emotions like fear and disgust serve survival functions by motivating avoidance of harmful situations or substances.

Eliciting Disgust

• Disgust can be easily triggered compared to other basic emotions; visual stimuli can provoke strong reactions from individuals.

• Common sources of disgust include feces, urine, blood, and rotten flesh—elements that pose contamination risks.

Historical Perspectives on Disgust

• Charles Darwin noted the universal nature of disgust through his observations during travels in South America.

• An anecdote illustrates how cultural perceptions shape disgust responses; even non-dirty hands can evoke feelings of revulsion based on social norms.

The Power of Association in Disgust

Universality and Strength of Disgust

• Richard Dawkins' reaction highlights the instinctive nature of disgust across different individuals regardless of background or knowledge.

Social Implications of Disgust

• The philosopher Martha Nussbaum discusses how certain properties associated with disgust have historically been linked to marginalized groups (e.g., Jews, women).

Historical Examples of Manipulating Disgust

• A Nazi children's book exemplifies how disgusting imagery was used to dehumanize Jewish people through vivid descriptions.

Modern Applications

Disgust Sensitivity and Political Orientation

Understanding Disgust Sensitivity

• Disgust is a universal emotion, but individuals vary in their sensitivity to it; some are more easily disgusted than others.

• A scale was developed by psychologists to measure disgust sensitivity through various scenarios, such as refusing food touched by a fly-swatter.

• Participants rate their disgust on situations like smelling urine in a tunnel, allowing researchers to quantify overall disgust sensitivity.

Correlation Between Disgust and Political Beliefs

• Studies show that individuals with higher disgust sensitivity tend to lean politically conservative; this pattern was observed across multiple studies.

• A larger sample of nearly 30,000 U.S. respondents confirmed that conservatives report higher levels of disgust sensitivity compared to liberals.

• The research controlled for variables like gender, age, income, and education while maintaining the correlation between disgust sensitivity and political orientation.

Voting Behavior Linked to Disgust Sensitivity

• Geographic analysis revealed that regions with high disgust sensitivity correlated with increased votes for conservative candidates like McCain.

• This relationship holds true globally; data from 121 countries showed consistent patterns linking disgust sensitivity with political orientation.

Physiological Responses and Moral Attitudes

• Other studies used physiological measures (e.g., skin conductance) showing conservatives exhibit greater arousal when exposed to disgusting images.

• High disgust sensitivity correlates with opposition to issues like gay marriage and other socio-moral topics within the sexual domain.

Causality: Does Disgust Shape Political Views?

• Experimental methods have been employed to determine if inducing feelings of disgust shifts political attitudes toward conservatism.

• In one study, participants exposed to unpleasant odors reported more negative attitudes towards gay men specifically, not affecting views on other social groups.

Understanding the Influence of Disgust on Morality

The Impact of Handwashing Reminders on Moral Judgments

• Participants who were reminded to wash their hands perceived certain harmless but taboo sexual practices as more morally wrong.

• Examples included scenarios such as a man having sex with his girlfriend on his grandmother's bed and a woman masturbating with her teddy bear, both of which elicited laughter yet were deemed morally abhorrent post-handwashing reminder.

Emotions and Their Role in Judgment

• The influence of emotions, particularly disgust, on moral judgment is significant; it alters not only behavior but also cognitive processes.

• Disgust serves an evolutionary purpose by helping individuals avoid contamination, yet its effects extend unexpectedly into areas like political preferences.

Complexity of Moral and Political Judgments

• The relationship between disgust and moral/political judgments is complex; different types of judgments may be influenced differently.