On 3 Jan - 10 Jan, Prof Roger Giner-Sorolla from the University of Kent visited us at the NUS Department of Psychology! Prof Giner-Sorolla gave a thought-provoking seminar on the role of disgust in morality (more details below) and we had great fun bringing him around to tour the various attractions in Singapore too!
Seminar Title: Disgust in Morality: Oxymoron or Cornerstone?
Abstract: Views of the role of the emotion of disgust in moral judgement swing wildly, from denying that disgust has anything moral about it, to elevating it to a supremely central role in moral condemnation. I will review published research from our lab that supports three simultaneously true points of view about disgust in moral contexts:
Disgust regulates the morality of actions that intrinsically violate rules about the use of the body;
Disgust responds to bad moral character, as opposed to bad moral consequences;
Expressions of disgust communicate moral motivation and sensitivity.