Insults are part of the fabric of daily life. But why do we insult each other Why do insults cause us such pain Can we do anything to prevent or lessen this pain Most importantly how can we overcome our inclination to insult othersIn A Slap in the Face William Irvine undertakes a wideranging investigation of insults their history the role they play in social relationships and the science behind them. He examines not just memorable zingers such as Elizabeth Bowenampamp39s description of Aldous Huxley as ampampquotThe stupid personampamp39s idea of a clever personampampquot but subtle insults as well such as when someone insults us by reporting the insulting things others have said about us ampampquotI never read bad reviews about myselfampampquot wrote entertainer Oscar Levant ampampquotbecause my best friends invariably tell me about them.ampampquot Irvine also considers the role insults play in our society they can be used to cement relations as when a woman playfully teases her husband or to enforce a social hierarchy as when a boss publicly berates an employee.