Toto

I have often felt that the opposition to abortion has no real moral or intellectual foundation, but is based solely on squeamishness (and its usefulness as a political issue for other purposes.) In my Marxist youth, it was referred to as "bourgeois squeamishness" to put it in its place.

I say this because I have seen reams of well researched arguments, but neither side budges from its position.

I have now found some support. Dispatches from Davos discusses the

But it might as well be talking about abortion.

I do not want to rehash any arguments pro or con abortion or stem cell research here. (Especially since they never lead anywhere.) I only ask if analysing the question in terms of "yuck" helps move the debate to a more productive plane.

For example, I have a vegatarian friend, who I once asked if her vegetarianism was based on morals or on health concerns. "Neither," she said. "Meat is yucky!" But she in fact had health problems that probably would have been helped by adding meat to her diet. In this case, "yuck" lead her to the wrong results (IMHO). But in other cases, "yuck" is as useful as any longer pseudointellectual involved justification.

Philosoft

Potentially problematic. How does it assist us as a standard of judgement? Are we going to let the "yuck" factor be the standard itself, or do we need to understand why we find things "yucky"? If the former, should we strive for a democratic form of "yuckiness" - majority rules?
And also in its favor, the "yuck" factor is a pretty common-sensical effect of evolution. It makes intuitive sense that we should have a "yuck" factor in the first place.

Toto

I think we need to understand why we think things are yucky. Obviously, as the article states, yuckiness is relative, and depends on culture, age (what's with those kids sticking metal through their faces?), etc.

I find that people who think abortion is wrong have constructed some arguments that convince them based on high sounding things like "life is sacred", and they then just shut down any further investigation. I would hope that considering that the basis of opposition is just the yuckiness factor would at least moderate their positions.

dangin

I think a large percentage of pro lifers are doing it for god. If they were concerned about the yuck factor, they couldn't carry around those signs with aborted fetuses on them. Unless they are trying to use the yuck factor against those seeking abortions.

I would think that the "yuck" factor would be the same between similar cultures. If abortion created a certain "yuck" quotient in America, one would assume it would be the same in England and France, and Germany. Cultures that are most similar to our in education, and financial considerations. But in Europe abortion is a medical procedure, not a battle ground.

Toto

That is exactly why they are doing it - to manipulate the emotions of people who might not have thought about things, but don't like the sight of blood. Open heart surgery is equally yucky looking, but not a big moral dilemma.

Besides, where has God said that abortion is wrong? There is no Biblical basis for anti-abortion laws, at least for early abortions.

dangin

God's a big baby killer. Sometimes when a tornado hits a church, he even gets the religious babies.

Philosoft

Indeed. God apparently likes to kill zygotes and blastocysts in much greater numbers than he allows them to develop.

The Other Michael

Hi dangin,

But don't the Germans eat those yucky eels? And I've heard that almost all English food falls into the "yucky" category.

Yuck seems to vary even among grossly similar cultures, and doesn't seem to necessarily have a lot of 'objective' to it.

cheers,
Michael