Shame, Guilt, and Their Places in Humanity

Humanity is a difficult concept to grasp, even for those of us who are human. Many of us spend time philosophizing about some of the main questions in life, “why are we here, what is our purpose?” and other similar ideas. And no matter what questions we have about our existence something becomes quite clear to anyone who gives those ideas even a bit of thought; we are quite different from any other animal here on earth. There are many physical and emotional characteristics that make that fact quite clear, and it is difficult to know exactly what emotions make us so different from animals because they don’t have the ability to tell us. I am going to suggest that the quality that separates us most from the many other species of animals on this planet is something that we have all felt at one point or another in our lives: shame.

Someone once told me that every scholar on earth has read the Bible, and if they haven’t read it they don’t have the right to call themselves a scholar. Assuming that is true, my first point comes directly from a story that I think everyone in the western world, Christian, Muslim, Jewish or not, is familiar with; the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In the very beginning they were as free and innocent as any of the other animals that dwelled with them in that paradise. The story tells that a snake persuaded Eve to eat an apple from the forbidden tree of knowledge, and she in turn persuaded Adam to eat it. This gave them knowledge that eliminated their innocence, and they gained the quality of shame. Immediately they went and made clothes to cover their bodies, because they were ashamed of their nakedness. And the story goes on from there.

Now perhaps the Bible isn’t exactly a credible source to draw from, but it certainly makes the point that shame is a quality that is uniquely human. Animals don’t feel the need to cover their naked bodies, and it is certainly not possible to make any animal feel guilty for something they have done. People can’t talk to a dog that has gotten in to the trash and try to reason with them, tell them that you are very ashamed and disappointed in their action. The only way that the dog will learn not to do it again is if you yell at them, or otherwise offer some form of punishment they can understand. Animals simply don’t have the ability to experience guilt for an action they have committed; they generally only understand physical experiences, not emotional ones.