Sticks and Stones: The Philosophy of Insults

by Jerome Neu

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." This schoolyard rhyme projects an invulnerability to verbal insults that sounds good but rings false. Indeed, the need for such a verse belies its own claims. For most of us, feeling insulted is a distressing-and distressingly common-experience.
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 role does insult play in social and legal life? When is telling the truth an insult? Neu draws upon a wealth of examples and anecdotes-as well as a range of views from Aristotle and Oliver Wendell Holmes to Oscar Wilde, John Wayne, Katherine Hepburn, and many others-to provide surprising answers to these questions. He shows that what we find insulting can reveal much about our ideas of character, honor, gender, the nature of speech acts, and social and legal conventions. He considers how insults, both intentional and unintentional, make themselves felt-in play, Freudian slips, insult humor, rituals,
blasphemy, libel, slander, and hate speech. And he investigates the insult's extraordinary power, why it can so quickly destabilize our sense of self and threaten our moral identity, the very center of our self-respect and self-esteem.
Entertaining, humorous, and deeply insightful, Sticks and Stones unpacks the fascinating dynamics of a phenomenon more often painfully experienced than clearly understood.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2006

Reviews

[Usfromdk · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read about a third of this book before I finally had had enough. I should have stopped sooner.

This book is not worth your time.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

My best guess at what philosophy is: ask a bunch of questions, which prompt more questions, and, then, before you make an actual statement, throw in a couple of digressive questions and speculations that question the validity of your statement.
What do you get to learn? How to ask questions.
At any rate, Neu's basic premise is that insults are about power: about wielding or confirming it over someone else or about using insults to save face. He looks at intentional and unintended insults, insults as humor, free speech and hate speech and insults, and more. An interesting read, for sure, and my biggest complaint is his reliance on Freud (theories, anecdotes, etc.) to back up those nebulous assertions he does make.
As I come from a family of teasers--and, as a loser kid who got his share of insults--, I was looking for someway to understand what prompts people to insult each other. The answer is pretty much anything and everything, but even friendly put-downs are about power. Unless they aren't and are just good-natured ribbing. Damn philosophy books!

[Raicheal]

I was in the seminar when he was writing this book! I can't wait to get my hands on it.