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The Moral Psychology
of Contempt
Moral Psychology of the Emotions
Series Editor:
Mark Alfano, Associate Professor, Department of
Philosophy, Delft University of Technology
How do our emotions influence our other mental states (perceptions, beliefs,
motivations, intentions) and our behavior? How are they influenced by our
other mental states, our environments, and our cultures? What is the moral
value of a particular emotion in a particular context? This series explores the
causes, consequences, and value of the emotions from an interdisciplinary
perspective. Emotions are diverse, with components at various levels (bio-
logical, neural, psychological, social), so each book in this series is devoted to
a distinct emotion. This focus allows the author and reader to delve into a spe-
cific mental state, rather than trying to sum up emotions en masse. Authors
approach a particular emotion from their own disciplinary angle (e.g., con-
ceptual analysis, feminist philosophy, critical race theory, phenomenology,
social psychology, personality psychology, neuroscience) while connecting
with other fields. In so doing, they build a mosaic for each emotion, evaluat-
ing both its nature and its moral properties.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
passages in a review.
ISBN: HB 978-1-78660-415-6
Acknowledgmentsix
List of Figures xi
List of Tables xiii
The Moral Psychology of Contempt: An Introduction xv
Michelle Mason
vii
viii Contents
Bibliography217
Index235
Notes on Contributors 243
Acknowledgments
I would like to begin by thanking series editor Mark Alfano for the invita-
tion that propelled the present work into existence. Most of the subsequent
contributions began life as presentations at a two-day conference hosted by
the Philosophy Department at Brown University, while I enjoyed a visiting
professorship there. For logistical and financial support for the conference,
I thank Bernard Reginster and the Program for Ethical Inquiry, Emma Kirby,
Katherine Scanga, the Office of the Dean of Faculty, and Cogut Center for
the Humanities director Amanda Anderson. Thanks, too, to the conference
participants—Felicia Nimue Ackerman, Nomy Arpaly, Macalester Bell, Zac
Cogley, Boyoung Kim, Bertram Malle, Ira Roseman, and David Sussman—
and to audience members whose questions helped the presenters to improve
on early work. Steve Darwall, Michael Pakaluk, and Mark Alfano complete a
roster of contributors with whom it has been a true pleasure to work. Finally,
for their guidance (and patience), I owe a debt of gratitude to my editor at
Rowman & Littlefield International, Isobel Cowper-Coles, and editorial
assistant Natalie Linh Bolderston.
ix
List of Figures
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
xi
xii List of Figures
CHAPTER 5
xiii
The Moral Psychology of Contempt:
An Introduction
Michelle Mason
The eye roll, the smirk, the unilateral lip curl. These, psychologists tell us,
are typical expressions of contempt. Across cultures, such expressions mani-
fest an emotional response to norm violations—whether in the context of a
marriage on the rocks, an encounter with a racist or demagogue, or a country
in the grip of political unrest. Since some such violations transgress moral
norms, one would expect contempt to be of interest not only to psychologists
but to moral philosophers as well. The phenomenon of contempt naturally
presses questions concerning whether we should, as a moral matter, attempt
to regulate it: whether by attempting to cultivate or extirpate contempt as an
attitude toward others’ or our own violations of the relevant moral norms.
For scholars of ancient ethics, contempt—and its correlate, shame—play a
familiar role in policing violations of an ethical code. Witness, for example,
Aristotle’s (1934) portrait of the contemptuous megalopsuchos (and, correla-
tively, his defense of the role of shame in the ethical cultivation of the young). If
it is no longer fair to say, as I did fifteen years ago (Mason 2003), that contem-
porary moral philosophers have neglected contempt, affording contempt a role
in the moral psychology of the mature moral agent still risks appearing objec-
tionably retrograde. For some modern moral philosophers, it is obvious that
contempt is never morally warranted because, as directed at persons, it violates
an unconditional duty of respect for persons as such (see, e.g., Hill 2000a). Oth-
ers might anticipate support from situationist psychology in arguing that a mor-
ally warranted contempt presupposes cross-situationally stable, globalist traits
of character—traits whose existence we purportedly have reason to doubt (see,
e.g., Doris 2002). Yet a third source of objection cites deleterious effects of con-
tempt in order to mount consequentialist arguments against its moral propriety.
While modern moral philosophers’ worries about contempt are motivated
by normative scruples, more vexing is the paucity of psychological work
xv
xvi The Moral Psychology of Contempt: An Introduction
of it, marking the passing and publicly displaying a person’s name is a way
of honoring the dead when the vast majority of people who die get no such
public recognition.
In many of the recent campus protests, students expressed their complaints
about the ethics of honoring racists using the language of comfort: they
objected that they do not feel comfortable working or studying on campuses
which honor and venerate persons who are notorious for their racist attitudes.
At a campus-wide meeting at Bryn Mawr College, one student of color
openly wept as she shared how distraught she felt going to class in a building
named for a woman who would have despised her.
While these expressions of emotional pain and distress are troubling,
I don’t think the ethical issues surrounding racism, contempt, and de-honoring
are best conceptualized in terms of comfort and discomfort. Our social insti-
tutions, especially our institutions of higher education, cannot aim to create
anodyne environments. Discomfort and pain are often ineliminable parts of
the educational process, and comfort on campus cannot be the goal, or even
a goal, of higher education. However, I do think social institutions have a
crucial role to play in creating the conditions necessary for self-respect and
respect for others, and because of this, people may legitimately critique the
institutions and practices of their communities, including the practices of
honoring and dishonoring, when these institutions undermine the social con-
ditions necessary for full respect.
To be a fully self-respecting person one ought to recognize one’s equal
moral worth and have a good sense of the esteem and deference one merits,
but as Robin Dillon has pointed out, the recognition at issue is not simply
cognitive; recognizing one’s equal moral worth is not just a matter of com-
ing to believe that one has equal moral value.14 Dillon distinguishes between
intellectual understanding and experiential understanding. As she points out,
it is one thing to understand, intellectually, that a loved one has died, but it
is another thing altogether to stand in front of a loved one’s coffin, see their
dead body, and really feel and appreciate the loss. So too when it comes to
self-respect, it is one thing to understand, intellectually, that one has equal
moral worth, but it is another thing to understand this experientially.
Dillon is especially interested in the nature of self-respect, but her insight
generalizes to respect tout court: as I see it, to respect oneself or another
experientially requires that we live in a society that reflects and expresses
the fundamental equal moral worth of all persons and distributes moral status
fairly; that is, the society publicly esteems those worthy of esteem and dises-
teems those worthy of disesteem. As social creatures, we come to have this
experiential understanding of our moral worth and status when we live in a
society with social institutions, practices, and traditions that reflect this back
Another random document with
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[Inhalt]
22. Phalanger celebensis (Gr.)
Ta f e l X V F i g u r 1 (c. ⅓ n. Gr.)
Ta f e l X V F i g u r 2 u n d 3 (c. ⅓ n. G r . )
H a b . In insulis Sangi.
Es liegen mir 5 Exemplare von den Sangi Inseln vor, und zwar 3 von
Gross Sangi (2 aus meinen Sammlungen und ein kürzlich
erhaltenes) und zwei von Siao (1893 erhalten). Sie unterscheiden
sich leicht von den Celebes Exemplaren durch ihre goldigen Töne,
sind farbiger und heller im Ganzen und haben auch mehr oder
weniger ein helles Gesicht. Die Abbildung ergiebt die Unterschiede,
bei deren zweifellosem Vorhandensein ich nicht zögere, die Sangi
Form als insulare abzutrennen. Bemerkenswerth ist vielleicht, dass 2
Junge von Ph. celebensis eine gewisse Ähnlichkeit mit sangirensis
in der Färbung zeigen (jedoch ohne helle Gesichtzeichnung). Kommt
diese Annäherung stets vor 1, so könnte sie bedeuten, dass die
Sangi Form die ältere ist, indem die celebische nur noch im
Jugendkleide die Färbung der Stammform bewahrt hat. Figur 2 und
3 Tafel XV sind zwei Männchen von Gross Sangi in c. ⅓ n. Gr. (2085
und 2239, von mir mitgebracht). In der Grösse kommen sangirensis
und celebensis einander gleich. Bei den mir vorliegenden 5
Exemplaren von Sangi ist ebensowenig eine Spur eines
Rückenstreifens vorhanden. In der Färbung differiren sie mehr oder
weniger untereinander, sie sind dunkler und heller; ein Exemplar von
Siao nähert sich selbst celebensis, allein differirt doch genügend, um
bei einem Gesammtvergleiche der 5 Sangi Exemplare einerseits mit
den 7 von Celebes andrerseits keinen Zweifel über die Berechtigung
von sangirensis aufkommen zu lassen.
1 W e b e r (Zool. Erg. I, 114 1890) sagt von einem Jungen von Ph. celebensis
von Goa in Süd Celebes, dass es ganz verschieden von der Mutter gefärbt sei,
kastanienfarben und oben dunkel. Dies scheint sich also nicht Ph. sangirensis
anzunähern. ↑
[Inhalt]
24. Phalanger ursinus (Temm.)
Diese Art ist bis jetzt nur von Nord Celebes mit Sicherheit nachgewiesen.
J e n t i n k (Notes Leyden Mus. VII, 91 1885) hielt es sogar für möglich, dass sie
vielleicht überhaupt auf Nord Celebes beschränkt sei. O. T h o m a s (Cat. Mars.
1888, 197) führt auch kein Exemplar von Süd Celebes auf. Das Museum besitzt
17, davon 7 aus der Minahassa, 3 von der Insel Lembeh bei Kema, 3 von
Tjamba in Süd Celebes (1882 1), 3 von Tonkean in Nordost Celebes und 1 von
der Insel Peling. Im August 1871 erlegte ich bei Poso an der Tominibucht
mehrere Exemplare, von denen eins im Berliner Museum ist, wie auch ein von
mir im Gorontaloschen erhaltenes. Es beweist dies das Vorkommen über ganz
Celebes; Te i j s m a n n (Natuurk. Tijdschr. Nederl. Ind. 38, 77 1879) behauptete
dies schon; ohne Exemplare als Unterlage kann man aber auf solche
allgemeine Angaben nicht viel Gewicht legen. Die Tonkean Exemplare zeichnen
sich durch ihre, besonders auf der hinteren Körperhälfte lebhaft gelbgraue
Färbung vor allen obigen und auch sonst beschriebenen aus, sie machen daher
nicht den schwärzlichen Eindruck wie die anderen; 2 von der Insel Lembeh
nähern sich ihnen in dieser Beziehung etwas, das 3. ist jedoch sehr dunkel. Das
von Peling ist das hellste von allen, es ist sehr gelblichgrau. Ob auf die
Färbungsdifferenzen der Tonkean und Peling Exemplare etwas zu geben sei, d.
h. ob sie locale Abänderungen repräsentiren, oder ob dort auch dunkle
Exemplare vorkommen, lässt sich erst bei mehr Material beurtheilen. Der Name
des Thieres im Buginesischen und Makassarischen ist memu, s. auch
Te i j s m a n n l. c.; in der Minahassa, sagt er (l. c. 23, 368 1861), heisse das
Männchen lokkon, das Weibchen kuseh. Es existirt noch keine genügende
Abbildung der Art, denn die L e s s o n sche (Cent. Zool. I, 10 1830) ist den
heutigen Anforderungen nicht entsprechend. Ph. ursinus lässt sich jedoch
gegenüber allen anderen Phalanger Arten keinen Augenblick verkennen. [35]
[Inhalt]
Index.
albayensis Elera, Phlœomys 29.
Cuscus 33.
Cynocephalus 5.
Macacus cynomolgus L. 4.
Paguma 11.
Trilophomys 33.
[Inhalt]
M a c a c u s m a u r u s F. Cuv.
c. ⅙ n. Gr.
¾ n. Gr.
Abh. Ber. K. Zool. Anthr. Ethn. Mus. Dresden 1896/7 Nr. 6
Meyer, Säugethiere Celebes-Philippinen Taf. III
¾ n. Gr.
Abh. Ber. K. Zool. Anthr. Ethn. Mus. Dresden 1896/7 Nr. 6
Meyer, Säugethiere Celebes-Philippinen Taf. IV
T a r s i u s p h i l i p p e n s i s A. B. Meyer
n. Gr.
⅕–⅙ n. Gr.
Abh. Ber. K. Zool. Anthr. Ethn. Mus. Dresden 1896/7 Nr. 6: Meyer, Säugethiere Celebes-
Philippinen
Taf. VI
P a r a d o x u r u s m u s s c h e n b r o e k i Schl.
c. 1⁄12 n. Gr.