Shame, Guilt, and Their Places in Humanity
by Everyone feels guilty or shameful at at least one point in their life, but the question that many people ask is why? What is the purpose behind those emotions, and what part do they play in society?
Conversely, guilt and shame are two of the first lessons any parent tries to teach their child. It is important that children learn what is “good” and what is “bad”, and every parent knows that they will not always be there by their child’s side to help them make difficult decisions. Therefore, parents try to instill a sense of shame in their child, so that whenever the child thinks of doing something “bad” or does something that they shouldn’t, that sense of shame will rise up, and they will tell the parents, or do what they can to fix the problem themselves. The emotion of shame is an important part of every human being, and of society in general.
Shame is an emotion that is very important to humanity for many reasons. It helps keep order in society, because without that emotion people wouldn’t have much reason to behave in a “civilized” manner. People would merely behave like animals, because they wouldn’t feel bad when they acted in a manner that was against society. The few people in society who don’t have the ability to experience shame or emotions for their actions are murderers and serial killers. Also, shame helps ensure that people behave in a manner that is similar to the behavior of those around them. When they behave in a way that is too different from the “norm”, they are scorned by others in society which causes the emotions of shame and embarrassment to arise. That is again another quality that animals don’t have; they don’t evoke feelings of shame in those who commit indiscretions against their societies. They simply use physical means to get rid of, or “throw out” the animal. Humans are alone in the fact that they use other people’s emotions against them, to cause shame to arise in them. It is a very effective weapon.
Shame is an emotion that no one is really fond of, but it is something that makes us who we are, as individuals and as humans. Without it, we would be much the same as animals and civilization would not have had the ability to progress as far as it has. So even though we may not like feeling ashamed of our actions, it is a necessary part of humanity to feel that particular emotion, and many others.
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