I don’t think there is an individualistic component to shame at all. I think it’s a purely social phenomenon. More specifically, I think shame is a feeling that arises from the understanding or perception that one has been assigned low social status by one’s own peers or community.
I think in order to experience shame, one must internalize negative social feedback, such as ridicule, scorn, or rejection. I don’t believe we experience shame privately. It hinges upon the disapproval of others.
As an example, sometimes people coming to the West as tourists from one of the Eastern “honor-shame” cultures will indulge in behaviors here that would be considered shameful back home, and they do not feel the least bit ashamed of themselves for it while they’re here. This is because the greater community here in the West has normalized the behavior (such as, for instance, drinking, gambling, immodest dress, etc.) to the point that it no longer confers shame upon the participant.
Remove us from the context within which our inclinations, if carried out, would harm our social status and we will indulge those inclinations from here to kingdom come with nary a second thought.
I don’t think there is an individualistic component to shame at all. I think it’s a purely social phenomenon. More specifically, I think shame is a feeling that arises from the understanding or perception that one has been assigned low social status by one’s own peers or community.
I think in order to experience shame, one must internalize negative social feedback, such as ridicule, scorn, or rejection. I don’t believe we experience shame privately. It hinges upon the disapproval of others.
As an example, sometimes people coming to the West as tourists from one of the Eastern “honor-shame” cultures will indulge in behaviors here that would be considered shameful back home, and they do not feel the least bit ashamed of themselves for it while they’re here. This is because the greater community here in the West has normalized the behavior (such as, for instance, drinking, gambling, immodest dress, etc.) to the point that it no longer confers shame upon the participant.
Remove us from the context within which our inclinations, if carried out, would harm our social status and we will indulge those inclinations from here to kingdom come with nary a second thought.