The Descent of Shame1

Abstract

Shame is a painful emotion concerned with failure to live up to certain standards, norms, or ideals. The subject feels that she falls in the regard of others; she feels watched and exposed. As a result, she feels bad about the person that she is. The most popular view of shame is that someone only feels ashamed if she fails to live up to standards, norms, or ideals that she, herself, accepts. In this paper, I provide support for a different view, according to which shame is about failure to live up to public expectations. Such a view of shame has difficulties explaining why an audience is central to shame, why shame concerns the self as a whole, and why the social rank of someone affects their ability to shame others. These features, I argue, are best explained by reference to the descent of shame in the emotion connected with submission in nonhuman animals. The function of submission—to appease relevant social others—also throws light on the sort of emotion that shame is. From the point of view of other people, a subject who experiences shame at her own failing is someone who is committed to living together with others in a socially sanctioned way. The argument is not that we must understand the nature of shame in terms of what it evolved for, but that its heritage is important to understanding the emotion that shame has become.

Dignitarian medical ethics

“…It captures something important at stake when patients complain of the loss of dignity. That patients are often shamed and humiliated in such situations further supports her analysis, for the most common view about shame is ‘…that it is an intensely negative emotion directed at the self as a result of having failed to live up to some standard, ideal, or norm’ (p 568) 20. While there is dispute about whether or not a person has to accept the standards in order to feel shamed for falling short of them, there is no dispute that feelings of shame and humiliation are provoked by failing to live up to one’s standards and ideals.…”

Shame, Publicity, and Self‐Esteem

“…In fact, it seems to be possible to feel shame over others' approval – sometimes we elicit approval in circumstances that make it obvious how little is expected of us, and this can be an occasion for shame. Maibom makes this observation (2010: 569). She also gives a group‐centred account, but admits that it does not explain this type of shame (2010: 589).…”

Shame, Violence, and Morality

“…Gibbard later writes that the main function of shame is to show “deference and a willingness to accept the…terms of cooperation” (1990: 298). The naturalistic account of shame more often frames it in terms of appeasement (Maibom : 585). In other words, shame is an emotion that both responds to the disapproval of others (usually others from a dominant or powerful group) and communicates to those others that the agent recognizes she has violated their norms.…”

“…Philosophers likewise disagree about whether or not shame conceived in this way can play a positive role in moral life . But the core aspects of the account are the same: “With few exceptions…everybody agrees that failing to live up to standards, norms and ideals is absolutely central to shame” (Maibom, : 569).…”