Shame, Love, and Morality

Author:

Westerlund FredrikORCID

Abstract

AbstractThis article offers a new account of the moral substance of shame. Through careful reflection on the motives and intentional structure of shame, I defend the claim that shame is an egocentric and morally blind emotion. I argue that shame is rooted in our desire for social affirmation and constituted by our ability to sense how we appear to others. What makes shame egocentric is that in shame we are essentially concerned about our own social worth and pained by the perception of our self as socially worthless. In itself, shame entails no morally pertinent concern about others or understanding of what is morally significant. I contrast shame with the possibility of relating to others—and to oneself—with love and care. Indeed, I propose that love is essential for moral understanding and motivation. The argument of the article unfolds through critical appraisals of the main strategies for defending the moral value of shame. First, against the claim that shame entails respect for others, I argue that shame's sensitivity to the opinions of others is motivated by egocentric self-concern. Second, against the view that shame over failures to live up to moral values is morally valuable, I argue that regardless of whether the values guiding our shame are moral or not, the perspective of shame is oblivious to their moral meaning. Third, against the claim that shame is crucial for self-understanding, I argue that the desire for affirmation that drives shame is a powerful source of self-deception.

Funder

Academy of Finland

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Subject

Philosophy

Reference77 articles.

1. Adkins, A.W.H. 1960. Merit and responsibility: A study in Greek values. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

2. Backström, J. 2007. The fear of openness: An essay on friendship and the roots of morality. Doctoral dissertation. Åbo: Åbo Akademi University Press.

3. Backström, J. 2019. Hiding from love: The repressed insight in Freud’s account of morality. In The Oxford handbook of philosophy and psychoanalysis, ed. R. Gipps and M. Lacewing, 595–616. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

4. Bagnoli, C. 2011. Introduction. In Morality and the emotions, ed. C. Bagnoli, 1–38. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

5. Benedict, R. 1947. The chrysanthemum and the sword. Reprint New American Library.

Cited by 2 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. Exposed: On Shame and Nakedness;Philosophia;2023-07-21

2. The Weight of Desire;Self, Other, and the Weight of Desire;2023

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3