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Can a better understanding of shame lead us to see its positive contribution to human life?For many people, shame really is a destructive and health-disrupting force. Too often it cripples and silences victims of other people's shameful behavior, and research has demonstrated clearly the damaging effects of shame on our emotional wellbeing. To combat this, a mini-industry of resources and popular therapies has emerged to help people free themselves from shame.
And yet, shame can contribute to a healthy emotional and moral experience. Some behavior is shameful, and sometimes we ought to be ashamed by wrongs we've committed. Eastern and Western cultures alike have long seen a social benefit to shame, and it can rightly cultivate virtues both public and personal.
So what are we to make of shame?
Philosopher and author Gregg Ten Elshof examines this potent emotion carefully, defining it with more clarity, distinguishing it from embarrassment and guilt, and carefully tracing the positive role shame has played historically in contributing to a well-ordered society.
While casting off unhealthy shame is always a positive,
For Shame demonstrates the surprising, sometimes unacknowledged ways in which healthy shame is as needed as ever. On the other side of good shame, lie virtues such as decency, self-respect, and dignity--virtues we desire but may not realize shame can grant.
Riassunto
Can a better understanding of shame lead us to see its positive contribution to human life?
For many people, shame really is a destructive and health-disrupting force. Too often it cripples and silences victims of other people's shameful behavior, and research has demonstrated clearly the damaging effects of shame on our emotional wellbeing. To combat this, a mini-industry of resources and popular therapies has emerged to help people free themselves from shame.
And yet, shame can contribute to a healthy emotional and moral experience. Some behavior is shameful, and sometimes we ought to be ashamed by wrongs we've committed. Eastern and Western cultures alike have long seen a social benefit to shame, and it can rightly cultivate virtues both public and personal.
So what are we to make of shame?
Philosopher and author Gregg Ten Elshof examines this potent emotion carefully, defining it with more clarity, distinguishing it from embarrassment and guilt, and carefully tracing the positive role shame has played historically in contributing to a well-ordered society.
While casting off unhealthy shame is always a positive, For Shame demonstrates the surprising, sometimes unacknowledged ways in which healthy shame is as needed as ever. On the other side of good shame, lie virtues such as decency, self-respect, and dignity—virtues we desire but may not realize shame can grant.
Testo aggiuntivo
'With examples from life, philosophical analysis, biblical stories, and humor, Ten Elshof argues that there is a narrow band of appropriate feelings of shame that are actually positive. He points out that most of us want to be well-regarded in a community of others we respect, feeling honored rather than feeling shame, and this urge to avoid feeling shame can contribute to the good of our communities. However, he cautions against the shaming of others and urges societal changes that would actively honor those who feel ashamed or less than others for no valid reason, for example due to their ethnicity, gender, disability, or circumstance beyond their control. Counselors, psychologists, pastors, chaplains, and spiritual directors would find this book useful. His critique of the research on shame and his careful distinctions between shame and other feelings such as guilt, low self-esteem, and self-hatred should aid future researchers and help all of us who look to apply that research and subsequent interpretations to our lives and the lives of those we care for.'
