H01 Group 4: Julian Savulescu on "Yuk!"

When we began our discussion, we talked about food. People have an initial reaction to certain foods. For instance, some people prefer donuts, or pretty much anything, over vegetables. Is this disgust with said food item because of our aversion toward trying new things? People are biased and our instincts are there for a reason, whether brought on by biology or tradition. Is our instinct always right? As said by one floater, we rationalize our prejudice, slavery during the 1800s being the prime example. Is our issue with boundaries, rather than the yuk factor? Perhaps we use “Yuk!” as a way of getting around doing something.

A discussion question was asked: what issues give you the yuk factor? Abortion and cannibalism seemed to be prime topics. In regards to a plane crash, people resort to cannibalism to survive. The intent is what is disturbing, not the act, which parallels with what Socrates said. Immoral and deceitful are not the same thing: stealing a knife, a deceitful act, to save a friend’s life is moral. We concluded that there is always a gray area. It is not always black and white; rather, yuk is too generalized. Our reaction needs to be evaluated on a case by case basis. We cannot over analyze all of our instincts. On the contrary, we cannot base everything we do off our instincts.

 

DQ: A child is fascinated by a spider until seeing the reaction of someone else. How much of the yuk factor is a learned behavior? How much of what our instincts tell us are based on societal norms and what we observe on a daily basis?

(posted by Larissa Wolf)