The Cursing Brain

A brain can't curse without a knowledge of what culture sees as a linguistic taboo

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The unfortunate episode at the Baftas in which Tourette’s sufferer John Davidson used racial slurs as Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award drew huge media attention not just for the poor handling of what happened but to the neurological condition itself. Raising awareness of Tourette’s is of course a good thing, but it was a pity that it occurred in this unpleasant and distressing way.

While most commentaries were sympathetic to Davidson, some were not, ascribing responsibility to him for the slurs. How could his brain have just made him utter those words at that moment without some intention or volition?

Tourette’s poses some difficult and troubling questions about the relation of the mind and the brain. For those who suffer, like Davidson, from the form that generates verbal outbursts, the content of what’s said will vary from one part of the world to another. If a swearword is shocking and offensive in one country, it may have less impact in another, and Tourette’s sufferers will use the language that offends depending on their local cultural context.