Shame, Vulnerability, and Change

Journal of the American Philosophical Association 8 (2):373-390 (2022)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Shame is frequently viewed as a destructive emotion; but it can also be understood in terms of change and growth. This essay highlights the problematic values that cause pervasive and frequent shame and the importance of resisting and changing these values. Using Confucian insights, I situate shame in an interactive process between the individual's values and that of their society, thus, being vulnerable to shame represents both one's connection to a community and an openness to others’ negative feedback. This process provides an important arena where personal values interact with communal ones. The Confucian tradition, I argue, affords individuals a degree of autonomy in internalization through urging them to cultivate and maintain a keen sense of shame. My discussion also offers resources for understanding the various aspects of this interactive process—how individuals with similar experiences of shame may, through channeling their experiences, influence social values and propel moral progress.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 91,386

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

An apology for moral shame.Chesire Calhoun - 2004 - Journal of Political Philosophy 12 (2):127–146.
Shame, Violence, and Morality.Krista K. Thomason - 2014 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 91 (1):1-24.
Defensive over Climate Change? Climate Shame as a Method of Moral Cultivation.Elisa Aaltola - 2021 - Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 34 (1):1-23.
On White Shame and Vulnerabiltiy.Alison Bailey - 2011 - South African Journal of Philosophy 30 (3):472-483.
In defense of shame: Shame in the context of guilt and embarrassment.John Sabini & Maury Silver - 1997 - Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 27 (1):1–15.
Shame as a self-conscious emotion and its role in identity formation.Tomasz Czub - 2013 - Polish Psychological Bulletin 44 (3):245-253.
A Confucian Theory of Shame.Nathaniel F. Barrett - 2015 - Sophia 54 (2):143-163.
To See Oneself as Seen by Others.Fredrik Westerlund - 2019 - Journal of Phenomenological Psychology 50 (1):60-89.

Analytics

Added to PP
2022-05-13

Downloads
57 (#275,172)

6 months
24 (#113,463)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Jing Iris Hu
Concordia University

Citations of this work

Add more citations

References found in this work

Pride Shame and Guilt.Gabriele Taylor - 1989 - Noûs 23 (2):253-254.
An apology for moral shame.Chesire Calhoun - 2004 - Journal of Political Philosophy 12 (2):127–146.
Shame, Violence, and Morality.Krista K. Thomason - 2014 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 91 (1):1-24.

View all 23 references / Add more references