On her book That’s Disgusting: Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion
Cover Interview of February 20, 2012
Lastly
You do not need to be trained in science or anthropology to appreciate That’s Disgusting. I wrote it solely with the general reader in mind, and my wish is that it is accessible, enjoyable and interesting to all.
At the same time, I believe that each reader will come to That’s Disgusting with a unique perspective and take away different things from it that are singular to him or her. We have all experienced disgust and therefore we can all approach it with our own personal tendencies and peculiar intrigues. Moreover, That’s Disgusting enables the reader to indulge in their secret fascinations, providing a private window through which the reader can examine themself as well as lay their eyes on others.
I am not so bold as to believe that there are any great consequences or implications to be gained from reading the book—but I do hope that it makes readers think about their lives and the way they treat other people in a slightly different and more appreciative way.
[T]he Holocaust transformed our whole way of thinking about war and heroism. War is no longer a proving ground for heroism in the same way it used to be. Instead, war now is something that we must avoid at all costs—because genocides often take place under the cover of war. We are no longer all potential soldiers (though we are that too), but we are all potential victims of the traumas war creates. This, at least, is one important development in the way Western populations envision war, even if it does not always predominate in the thinking of our political leaders.Carolyn J. Dean, Interview of February 01, 2011
The dominant premise in evolution and economics is that a person is being loyal to natural law if he or she attends to self’s interest and welfare before being concerned with the needs and demands of family or community. The public does not realize that this statement is not an established scientific principle but an ethical preference. Nonetheless, this belief has created a moral confusion among North Americans and Europeans because the evolution of our species was accompanied by the disposition to worry about kin and the collectives to which one belongs.Jerome Kagan, Interview of September 17, 2009
Lastly
You do not need to be trained in science or anthropology to appreciate That’s Disgusting. I wrote it solely with the general reader in mind, and my wish is that it is accessible, enjoyable and interesting to all.
At the same time, I believe that each reader will come to That’s Disgusting with a unique perspective and take away different things from it that are singular to him or her. We have all experienced disgust and therefore we can all approach it with our own personal tendencies and peculiar intrigues. Moreover, That’s Disgusting enables the reader to indulge in their secret fascinations, providing a private window through which the reader can examine themself as well as lay their eyes on others.
I am not so bold as to believe that there are any great consequences or implications to be gained from reading the book—but I do hope that it makes readers think about their lives and the way they treat other people in a slightly different and more appreciative way.