Susan Miller, author of two foundational works on shame, now turns to disgust, an intriguing emotion that has received little attention in the professional literature. For Miller, the psychological study of disgust revolves around boundary issues: we tend to feel disgusted about things that lie on the border between our sense of self and nonself or between our sense of "good self" and "bad self." This exploration leads to consideration of the relation of the various sensory modalities to disgust reactions.
Key Features
- Explores the developmental grounding of the capacity to disgust.
- Analyzes the relationship between disgust and sensory impressions.
- Incorporates cultural analysis linking disgust to health, family life, and group identity.
- Examines the connection of disgust to sex, procreation, and human intimacy.
- Offers insights into the role of emotion in therapy and everyday life.
Additional Information
Miller's clinical and everyday examples of disgust lead her to delve into why certain sensory impressions or objects are perceived as "disgusting" to some individuals but not others. She questions why images and smells of disease frequently elicit disgust and how the self's need to safeguard itself against noxious intrusions interacts with the need to nourish itself through contact with "otherness." With her typically graceful and gracious prose, Miller puts disgust on the psychological map and adds a chapter to our understanding of this complex emotion.
