In the course of writing something on free speech and offensive language I became interested in the question of insults: what exactly are they? And, why exactly are they wrong?
As far as I can tell not much has been written on the subject, although J L Austin has, unsurprisingly, some interesting fragmentary remarks about the subject.
A rough first-go definition of an insult would be that it is a representation of the other in a negative light. But further thought shows some of the difficulties. An insult has propositional content. Loudly saying ‘Blrrrrr’ or sticking up the finger is rude but not insulting. An insult does not have to be in the form of words. The familiar gesture of holding a finger to one’s head and spinning it to indicate that the other is crazy is an insult.
But what then is the relation of an insult to the truth? I have to say or represent something about the other that bears some kind of plausible relationship to the other. As Austin notes ‘I hereby insult you’ is not an insult as ‘I hereby promise’ is the making of a promise, or saying ‘Thank you’ is the expression of gratitude. Saying of a palpably thin person that she is fat is not insulting. Saying of a palpably fat person that she is fat is, it seems to me, not – or not yet – an insult. Something more is needed. Saying of the other what we will all acknowledge as a failure or fault or vice? But calling a dirty rotten scoundrel ‘a dirty rotten scoundrel’ does not seem to me an insult. Exaggeration? But how much exaggeration is needed? An intention to wound? But see below.
Leaving these questions to one side what makes an insult wrongful? It cannot be that an insult causes hurt. This is neither necessary nor sufficient. I can insult someone who is too obtuse to recognise the insult and thereby feel the pain. I can hurt someone who claims to feel insulted but is in fact not insulted – for instance, someone who easily takes offense or who has misunderstood the words uttered.
It is not enough that someone should intend to cause pain. I can utter the right words to the wrong person, as it were, or the wrong words to the right person. I can also insult someone accidentally without meaning to. I may act wrongly in unsuccessfully trying to insult but in such a case I do not act wrongly in insulting. I am also disposed to think that I act wrongly in trying to insult someone who fails to be insulted (it goes over their head). I am less clear as to whether I do insult someone who does not feel insulted but ought to.
And what is the relationship of the putative wrongfulness of the insult to the truth of its propositional content? Thus If I insult someone who deserves to be insulted – a bully, cheat, or hypocrite – do I do something pro tanto but not all things considered wrong in insultingly saying what is true of them? Or do I do no wrong at all?
There are other interesting questions. Can I insult your group? Can I insult you in insulting someone you are close to? For now I leave you with the above puzzles
Super fun post, Dave. Thanks for this.
Maybe we could try this as a rough first try:
Person A insults Person B just in case Person A says something that implies that B has a quality that, by Person B’s own standards, is negative.
This won’t work, I think. But, I’ll let others try to work out why it might not work.
I enjoyed reading this. On a side note, I thought it was quite funny that the palpably thin or fat “person” instantly became a “she.”
I would tend to disagree with you though when you said that calling a palpably fat person “fat” didn’t seem like an insult. I can recall countless times when this has been the case though maybe I’m misunderstanding a subtle difference between someone ‘feeling hurt’ by such a comment and being ‘insulted’ by something someone said. Though I do agree that calling a palpably thin person fat does not seem insulting which maybe suggests that an insult must bear some aspect of truth to be perceived as insulting?
Alternatively, there might be something a bit culturally relative about insults. I was talking to a girl from China a while ago who said that it would be not be considered unusual in her home town for a fat person to be approached by a stranger who would advise them to lose weight! This however, wouldn’t be intended as insulting but rather just as some rational advice in the interest of keeping healthy.
“It is not enough that someone should intend to cause pain.” – I suppose this really depends on whether you agree with Kant’s charge of “Good will” being the only truly morally good thing or whether you’re a bit more utilitarian on the matter.
Thanks Ben and John
Apologies for the gender bias. I tend to randomise my use of pronouns. Sometimes it’s revealing.
I know all too well how Chinese behaviour – which tends not to respect what we would see as ‘private’ – can be quite surprising and in your face. I have been told of couples, whose row in private the previous night has been overheard, being approached and asked if they needed any help in their relationship!
I think there is an important difference between merely making a negative comment and being insulting, and it is analogous, I think, to the difference between mere denial of the existence of God and blasphemy which the law at least demands be disparaging, scurrilous, etc. Consider where the difference lies between reasonable if damning criticism (‘His Hamlet failed to reveal anything of the character’s inner torment, or indeed motivation’) and insult (‘In his case ‘to be or not to be’ was all too easy to answer. He had died on stage already’)
My comment about intention to hurt was not meant to suggest that it is not wrong to so intend. Rather such an intention is not sufficient to make a comment insulting. I can mean and try to hurt you, and simply fail to do so.