The cook, the thief, his wife and her lover: a discourse on disgust

“The characteristic of a human being is that – and this is very much in contrast with other animals – he doesn't know what to do with his shit. He is encumbered by his shit… Civilisation means shit, cloaca maxima”. Jacques Lacan¹“The word vomit arrests the vicariousness of disgust, it puts the thing in the mouth; it substitutes, but only for example, oral for anal. It is determined by the system of the beautiful, “the symbol of morality,” asife other; it is then for philosophy, still, an elixir, even in the quintessence of its bad taste.” Jacques Derrida²“It all ends up as shit in the end.” Albert Spica in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover.