Disgust

Macbeth, Helen. Food Preferences and Taste. Vol. 2. Providence : Berghahn Books, 1997. 65-79. Print.

Disgust

Preadaptation and the Cultural Evolution of a Food-based Emotion.

Summary:

            In this reading, the author explains how the behavior of human beings is generally categorized into either the nature (“highly constrained by biology”) or nurture (“entirely socially constructed”) categories. The original function of disgust was as a food-rejection mechanism used to identify and expel distasteful and noxious foods, but it has evolved into a unique emotion which now dictates such things as what is socially acceptable and protection of the human soul. This instance of evolution is known as preadaptation – “a system/property evolved to perform one function is subsequently shared or coopted for another function.” The physical manifestations such as facial reactions, withdrawal and physiological changes such as nausea are still maintained even when disgust is applied outside of a food-related occurrence. The article also relates how other primitive emotions have evolved to represent more than what they were originally meant for; a smile for example, representing a likeable taste as well as serving as an interaction facilitator. The origins of disgust talk about how bitter tastes elicited the distaste response – leading to withdrawal or ridding of the substance. These primitive reactions are seen both in animals as well and human infants. In adults this response has become associated with nausea and leads to another reason for withdrawal of a substance. The food rejection system in humans is based on three different motives – distaste, anticipated consequences, and conceptual. The distaste factor is present since birth, but the others develop gradually, explaining why some may find certain substances or acts more or less disgusting than others. Disgust is talked about in much further detail as to how it evolves as a product of environmental and social factors, some experienced and some accepted based on others experience. Disgust then also gets broken down into all different subcategories such as core disgust, animal nature disgust, death and disgust, interpersonal disgust, and how moral violations can elicit a disgust response.

Analysis:

The reading starts off with saying that human behavior is usually thought of being categorized into either the nature or nurture categories. It explains how part of the disgust emotion is innate such as the distaste response which is usually elicited by a bitter taste, and other parts of the emotion are learned gradually through experience. Preadaptation is explained and how disgust is an example of it as well as other emotions and responses. What sort of things disgust us and all the different reasons why are explained in more detail in each of the various sections.