wisdom of repugnance
n.— «Professor Nussbaum is certainly right that feelings of disgust, like feelings of shame, are extra- if not irrational: we don’t argue ourselves into disgust or shame: we feel it immediately. Professor Nussbaum is deeply suspicious of those feelings. She sharply criticizes the physician-philosopher Leon Kass for advocating the “wisdom of repugnance”—the wisdom of disgust and revulsion—because our disgust might be misplaced.» —“Does shame have a future?” by Roger Kimball New Criterion Sept. 1, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Cat hair may be something you brush off, but cat hair is also a slang term that means “money.” In the same way, cat beer isn’t alcoholic — some people use cat beer as a joking term for “milk.” And imagine walking on a...
There are eight major planets, but more than a million minor ones, including asteroids. If you discover one, you get the honor of naming it. The Dictionary of Minor Planet Names includes minor planets named for rock bands, jazz musicians, poets, and...