Shame
Definition of Shame
What is Shame?
The Origins
This distinction is clarified in Greek: aiskhyne is shame in the bad sense of "disgrace, dishonor" and adios is shame in the good sense of "modesty, bashfulness" ("shame").
Old Norse kinnroði is neutral, which literally means "cheek-redness," "blush of shame" ("shame").
How could shame be in good sense? As the anticipation of shame experience deters one from actually doing something that could arouse such pain; the protective withdrawal what we call modesty is.
The First Shame
Expulsion of Adam and Eve
Here, shame is the "incontrovertible evidence of the acquisition of objective self-awareness"; they perceive the existence of Other's regard for the first time (Broucek 3).
Expulsion from Eden is, therefore, the expulsion from the complete and sole self-image. Having lost the blessed ignorance of others, they fell into the perpetual horror of shame.
Every object suddenly starts to talk:
"I am not What You Think I am"
Open Eyes to the External World
The link with the divine Source was broken and became invisible, the world became suddenly external to Adam, things became opaque and heavy, they became like unintelligible and hostile fragments.
(Broucek 4)
Who can Ignore Shame?
Powerful Pathos of Shame
Community of Feeling
These emotions have their common roots on the concern for others, or, precisely, on the concern for oneself in others' eyes. The horror of the conflict with others' view of oneself and rejection by others is so intense, and, nevertheless, universal that so many words are generated from it.
For this share of feelings, we can sympathize with each other, forming a sense of human beings as a community of feeling.
For Shame!
Shame and Guilt
In culture of shame, the relationship between one and others is horizontal. Shame is the means of restraint and punishment of the community of feelings.
"For shame," and "Shame on you" are idioms which mean "you should feel ashamed!" They are voices from the community, rebuking ones' betrayal of anticipated reactions and reminding one of the way to express the sorry.
Vulnerability or Capability
Becoming Being for Others
Vulnerability to the Fall
Being an object of others elicit shame more than the mere fact that the vulgar act is seen. In this sense, shame is a feeling of fundamental loss by the fall from the position of a subject to that of an object.
Capability of Ascent
Presence of Mind
Scheler further contends that shame is an unique characteristic of men since neither god nor animals feel it; God is free from the rule of body and animals do not know of the noble mind. Only human beings "are capable of" feeling shame for having mind independent from body (qtd. in Ikegami par. 2).
What is Shame?
Imagination of Others' View
Shame
2. a sense or anticipation of pain makes one to repress certain types or desires or actions which would cause the pain; the innate means of protection of individuals in a community or a society not to avoid the rules, thus also protecting the society
3. Capability and vulnerability of human beings (not) to sympathize and (not) to be sympathized
Works Cited
Broucek, Francis J. Shame and the Self. NY: The Guilford Press, 1991. Google Books. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
Gardner, Sebastian. Sartre’s Being and Nothingness: A Reader’s Guide. London: Gardner, 2009. Continuumbooks. Web. 04 Feb. 2014
Ikegami, Dezsi. “Shame.” Naver Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
"shame." etymonline.com. Douglas Harper, 2001. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.