Putting Our Morals Where Our Mouths Are

In this paper I argue that to understand how disgust operates in the most abstract domains, we must return to its operation in the original, most physical instance: that of food. Food-related disgust is often understood as purely physical, whereas moral disgust is often understood as a more metaphorical extension of disgust into non-physical domains. However, as we’ll see, disgust at food is not just a reaction to physical properties; it is evoked by food’s symbolic properties as well, including its moral properties. Food is therefore a useful domain in which to explore disgust’s role as protector of both body and soul. I conclude that the role disgust plays in the moral domain is not metaphorical but literal, and the same as its physical role: it protects against threats to the self.