Sticks and Stones The Philosophy of Insults |
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| Author:
| Neu, Jerome |
| ISBN: | 978-0-19-804288-4 |
| Publication Date: | Nov 2007 |
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press, Incorporated
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| Book Format: | Ebook |
| List Price: | USD $40.43 |
Book Description:
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In Sticks and Stones, philosopher Jerome Neu probes the nature, purpose, and effects of insults, exploring how and why they humiliate, embarrass, infuriate, and wound us so deeply. What kind of injury is an insult? Is it determined by the insulter or the insulted? What does it reveal about the character of both parties as well as the character of society and its conventions? What is its' role in social and and legal life (from play to jokes to ritual to war and from blasphemy to...
More DescriptionIn Sticks and Stones, philosopher Jerome Neu probes the nature, purpose, and effects of insults, exploring how and why they humiliate, embarrass, infuriate, and wound us so deeply. What kind of injury is an insult? Is it determined by the insulter or the insulted? What does it reveal about the character of both parties as well as the character of society and its conventions? What is its' role in social and and legal life (from play to jokes to ritual to war and from blasphemy to defamation to hate speech)? How ready should we be to forgive? Neu draws upon a wealth of examples and anecdotes-as well as a range of views from Aristotle to Oscar Wilde to Katherine Hepburn and many others-to provide surprising answers to these questions.