In their first #coronavirus shut-down podcast, Pigweed and Crowhill drink and review two beers — For Pete’s Sake and Torpedo — and then discuss shame vs. guilt, and how a shame culture differs from a guilt culture.
Although the words are sometimes used interchangeably, you can distinguish them. Guilt stems from the feeling that you have violated a moral norm. You can have guilt over something you’ve done alone in the dark. Shame requires an audience. It’s related to how others perceive you.
Shame culture might also be called honor culture, and it leads to a very different sort of society. Guilt may be no fun, but it makes for a better culture than shame.
QUOTE: Shame culture might also be called honor culture, and it leads to a very different sort of society. Guilt may be no fun, but it makes for a better culture than shame.
@ Crowhill, I may be wrong, but weren’t you, at one time, in favor of the culture using “shame” to prompt people to abide by important social norms?
Yes. Shame has its place. It’s an important social tool.
That’s a different issue.
In a shame culture, a person is primarily motivated by his public standing. What other people think of him.
In a guilt culture, a person is primarily motivated by how his behavior stacks up against a moral standard.
That doesn’t mean there’s no guilt in a shame culture or vice versa.
Got it, thanks! What initially raised a question was that you said guilt makes for a better culture than shame. It caused me to wonder if you abandoned shame in favor of guilt.