The Infested Mind

The psychological connections between humans and insects are tantalizing and complex. Through both evolutionary associations and cultural representations, insects have deeply infested our minds. They frighten, disgust, and sometimes enchant us. Whatever the case, few of us are ambivalent in the face of wasps, cockroaches, spiders, maggots, crickets or butterflies. They arouse terror, nausea, fascination-but rarely, if ever, indifference. And the costs of fear can be high, both in terms of the quality of individual lives and with regard to our social responses, from soaking our food with insecticides to overlooking our dependence on the ecological roles of insects (including those on the brink of extinction). The book is an examination of what scientists, philosophers, and writers have learned about the human-insect relationship. Jeffrey Lockwood is an entomologist himself and yet still experiences bouts of entomophobia; in fact, his seemingly paradoxical response to certain insects and scenarios is what prompted him to write this book. The book explores the nature of anxiety and phobia and the line between them. It examines entomophobia in the context of the nature-nurture debate, posing the question: how much of our fear of insects can be attributed to our ancestors' predisposition to avoid insects to benefit their own survival, and how much is learned through parents? Using his own and others' experiences with entomophobia as case studies, Lockwood breaks down common reactions to insects, distinguishing between fear and disgust, and inviting the reader to consider his/her own emotional, cognitive, and physiological reactions to insects in a new light. "In The Infested Mind, Lockwood shifts from entomology to psychology to examine the fascination that first drew him to insects and the terror that later repelled him. His exploration of our complex relations with these critters makes for an engrossing book. For the entomophobic reader especially, the experience is at times thrilling (watch out for the photos!) and therapeutic." --Scientific American MIND"Lockwood (natural sciences & humanities, Univ. of Wyoming; Six-Legged Soldiers) begins with his own nightmare experience with a locust swarm and proceeds to analyze thoroughly human reactions to insects and spiders. He explores the differences between fear and disgust, both of which help protect us from potential danger and harm... VERDICT: For all who have responded to insects -- entomophobes, entomophiles, or in between -- as well as psychologists and parents." --Library Journal"By drawing upon the works of Dali, Kant and Jung (amongst others), Lockwood reveals the psychology of our fears and disgust of arthropods. Central to this argument is the idea that human beings are culturally malleable creatures operating within certain evolutionary constraints. Leave it also to Lockwood to examine entomophobia and biophilia in such a reflexive, provocative and engaging fashion, while elucidating the role of the negative sublime in human-arthropod encounters." --Raynald Harvey Lemelin, Lakehead University Research Chair in Parks and Protected Areas, Lakehead University"A tour-de-force account of the myriad ways that insects and their kin repel, disgust, terrify, and yet paradoxically attract and fascinate humans, irrespective of time and place." --May Berenbaum, Head of Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignPROLOGUE. ENTOMOPHOBIA FROM THE INSIDE: SWALLOWED BY A SWARM ; CHAPTER 1. THE NATURE OF FEAR-AND THE FEAR OF NATURE ; CHAPTER 2. ENTOMOPHOBIA: A PRODUCT OF OUR GENES? ; CHAPTER 3. ENTOMOPHOBIA: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT? ; CHAPTER 4. DISGUST: HORROR'S OTHER HALF ; CHAPTER 5. THE TERRIBLE TRIO: IMAGINING INSECTS INTO OUR LIVES ; CHAPTER 6. TREATING THE HORRIFIED: FINALLY, SOME GOOD NEWS ; CHAPTER 7. ENTOMOPHILIA: INSECTS AS SOURCES OF WONDER ; EPILOGUE. TALES OF TERROR: BED BUGS IN NEW YORK CITY