The Writing’s on the Wall
In Aristotle’s, Nicomachean Ethics, the subject of shame is discussed. The context in which it is discussed is when speaking on the vices and virtues of different characteristics, and while that is quite the interesting topic it is not what will be the focus of this essay. One of the areas discussed is the sense of shame, which Aristotle defines as “certain fear of disrepute”(1128b11-12). The text then continues on to speak on the different people who sense shame, such as the youth versus the elder people. An intriguing line on this is when Aristotle says, “But this passion is appropriate, not at every age but to the young”(1128b16-17). Shame being acceptable for only the youth to feel, caused the question of why to arise in my mind and I believe other readers minds as well. Therefore I would like to discuss where the reasoning lies in Aristotle’s beliefs in the sensing of shame and why I believe there is a difference between the shame felt by the youth and the shame incurred by the elders.
Aristotle first addresses the question of why it is considered acceptable for the youth to sense shame. The text states “for we suppose that the young ought to be bashful because the many errors they make, in living by passion, are checked by a sense of shame.”(1128b17-18), I fully agree with Aristotle’s saying this in the passage above. The youth should be encouraged to be bashful or feel shame when they make a mistake or do something wrong because feeling shame means recognizing that what they did was wrong. As children and/or youth, one is not born knowing the full list of rights versus wrongs therefore one must learn. Most of the time our elders try to teach you right from wrong just by telling you verbally, but most of the time to truly learn one must incur the shame and learn by experience that this action, whatever it may be, is wrong. Aristotle even goes as far as to state that “And we praise those of the young who are bashful”(1128b19-20). Praise, this word truly stuck out in my mind when reading this passage. To praise something is to hold it in the highest of standards, and when first thinking about this it might strike you strange as you are considering this in terms of sensing shame. I believe this to be a great idea though, as one should do their best to promote the considering of right and wrong in the youth while they are young and their minds are still being molded and formed.
Directly after speaking about praising the youth for sensing shame, the text states “but no one would praise an older man because he is given to shame”(1128b20-21), the text goes on to say more and while this will be addressed later in the essay, the focus for now, will be on this portion of the sentence. The aforementioned sentence spoken about, is in consideration of the elders and how they should not be praised as the youth would be for feeling shame. At first glance this statement would seem unfair. Why would the youth be praised for feeling shame and not the elders? The elders recognizing what they did as wrong, is just like the youth recognizing what they did as wrong. Shouldn’t the recognition of doing something wrong and sensing shame then, be praised? While the looking for answer to the question is murky, I believe it is no. Aristotle explains why the elders should not be praised for their shame in the following, when the text states “we suppose that he ought not to anything that incurs shame.”(1128b21-22). Aristotles’ saying this could be interpreted as his saying that the elders have learned right from wrong and should be knowledgeable on what is acceptable and what will incur shame. Still there is one thing that does not fully make sense. If the elder commits a wrongful act that incurs shame would this not be more well known as guilt rather than shame? Guilt and shame appear to be closely related as the dictionary defines shame as “a condition of humiliating disgrace or disrepute” or “something that brings censure or reproach”. But guilt is defined as “the state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously”, in my opinion, guilt more aptly depicts this feeling that the elders experience when incurring shame. I believe this because, as was said before, the elders are supposedly more knowledgeable on what is right and what is wrong therefore when they commit an act of wrongfulness, they are doing so consciously. This meaning they should feel guilt rather than shame.
To summarize, I believe Aristotle to be on the right track with his beliefs in praising the youth for feeling shame because this promotes thought in right versus wrong, and I am also in full agreement with not praising the elders for doing wrong and feeling shame as they should already know better. As previously said one does not praise someone for feeling guilt, because guilt leads one to believe that you have consciously committed this wrongful act. Therefore one who feels shame in their youth deserves praise, but one who feels guilt does not.
Aristotle first addresses the question of why it is considered acceptable for the youth to sense shame. The text states “for we suppose that the young ought to be bashful because the many errors they make, in living by passion, are checked by a sense of shame.”(1128b17-18), I fully agree with Aristotle’s saying this in the passage above. The youth should be encouraged to be bashful or feel shame when they make a mistake or do something wrong because feeling shame means recognizing that what they did was wrong. As children and/or youth, one is not born knowing the full list of rights versus wrongs therefore one must learn. Most of the time our elders try to teach you right from wrong just by telling you verbally, but most of the time to truly learn one must incur the shame and learn by experience that this action, whatever it may be, is wrong. Aristotle even goes as far as to state that “And we praise those of the young who are bashful”(1128b19-20). Praise, this word truly stuck out in my mind when reading this passage. To praise something is to hold it in the highest of standards, and when first thinking about this it might strike you strange as you are considering this in terms of sensing shame. I believe this to be a great idea though, as one should do their best to promote the considering of right and wrong in the youth while they are young and their minds are still being molded and formed.
Directly after speaking about praising the youth for sensing shame, the text states “but no one would praise an older man because he is given to shame”(1128b20-21), the text goes on to say more and while this will be addressed later in the essay, the focus for now, will be on this portion of the sentence. The aforementioned sentence spoken about, is in consideration of the elders and how they should not be praised as the youth would be for feeling shame. At first glance this statement would seem unfair. Why would the youth be praised for feeling shame and not the elders? The elders recognizing what they did as wrong, is just like the youth recognizing what they did as wrong. Shouldn’t the recognition of doing something wrong and sensing shame then, be praised? While the looking for answer to the question is murky, I believe it is no. Aristotle explains why the elders should not be praised for their shame in the following, when the text states “we suppose that he ought not to anything that incurs shame.”(1128b21-22). Aristotles’ saying this could be interpreted as his saying that the elders have learned right from wrong and should be knowledgeable on what is acceptable and what will incur shame. Still there is one thing that does not fully make sense. If the elder commits a wrongful act that incurs shame would this not be more well known as guilt rather than shame? Guilt and shame appear to be closely related as the dictionary defines shame as “a condition of humiliating disgrace or disrepute” or “something that brings censure or reproach”. But guilt is defined as “the state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously”, in my opinion, guilt more aptly depicts this feeling that the elders experience when incurring shame. I believe this because, as was said before, the elders are supposedly more knowledgeable on what is right and what is wrong therefore when they commit an act of wrongfulness, they are doing so consciously. This meaning they should feel guilt rather than shame.
To summarize, I believe Aristotle to be on the right track with his beliefs in praising the youth for feeling shame because this promotes thought in right versus wrong, and I am also in full agreement with not praising the elders for doing wrong and feeling shame as they should already know better. As previously said one does not praise someone for feeling guilt, because guilt leads one to believe that you have consciously committed this wrongful act. Therefore one who feels shame in their youth deserves praise, but one who feels guilt does not.
Hey Erin! I really enjoyed reading your post and I think you did a very good job with it! Thank you for posting it! You make an insightful analysis and a strong argument on the subject of shame and I was intrigued by your differentiation between shame and guilt at the end of your essay. I agree with the idea that we should praise the younger when they reevaluate and change their immoral actions, however, I’m not sure I agree with Aristotle’s idea that elders should not also be praised when they do the same. My reasoning behind this is simply the fact that we are all human and, no matter what age we are, we all make mistakes and do things that we shouldn’t. Aristotle makes the statement in Chapter 9 of Book 4, “Shame does not belong to a decent person either, since it occurs in connection with base things (for one must not do such things)” (Ethics, 1128b). It is true that shame is experienced when an action that is base or wrong is done and that “one must not do such things,” but we all make mistakes and do these things anyways. Paul talks about this struggle in Romans chapter 7 when he mentions his internal war with sin (the source of all base things) and the fact that he does the things he hates all the time even though he doesn’t want to. Shame is a natural human reaction when we realize that there is something wrong with us. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they hid because they were ashamed of their nakedness. When we commit a sin and realize it, I think that shame serves to check us all regardless of our age and that it is not necessarily a bad thing to feel it, but that it should not stay that way. This brings me to your distinction between shame and guilt. James chapter 4, starting at the second half of verse 8 and continuing through verse 9, says, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom” (The Bible ESV, James 4:8b-9). This rather graphic description is James’s picture of what his readers’ reaction to sin should be when they realize that they are living in it. This picture, to me, goes beyond mere shame or guilt; this reaction, to me, is an illustration of remorse. Shame causes us to want to cover up and hide, guilt causes us to feel bad and regret what we’ve done, but remorse combines the previous two and leads to a true understanding of what our sin really does. This, in turn, causes us to repent and seek God’s forgiveness and love, which is the reaction He wants us to take. In the end, shame is not necessarily a bad thing for elders (or anyone) to feel because it is a natural human response to our base sins and we all fall short despite our age, but it shouldn’t merely stay as shame. It should progress to remorse which, in turn, should yield repentance which, itself, should merit the praise of others, no matter the age of the one repenting. Thank you again for your essay Erin, it inspired a nice train of thought to take off and I enjoyed riding the path it took me on! Have a great day and a wonderful Thanksgiving week!! :)
ReplyDeleteHey Erin! After reading your paper, I’ve realized how interesting this focus on shame is, though I had never particularly noticed it before! Good job! When you (or rather when Aristotle) defines shame as “certain fear of disrepute,” what do you think that means (1128b11-12)? I know disrepute may generally mean to be held in low esteem in the eyes of the public, do you think that this definition of disrepute is effective in application to this definition of shame? If so, this then implies that shame is the fear of being held in low esteem by the public, which makes sense. By that standard then, how do we define shame within ourselves? Shame that we feel due to our own guilt over something, even if no one else knows about what we did to make ourselves feel such shame? I enjoyed your clarification on the difference between the shame of youth and the shame of those not so youthful. You mentioned that it stuck out to you when he used the word praise to describe bashful youths, and I also found it interesting, as it seemed to imply that shame was a praiseworthy thing. I could see how some shame could be beneficial because it would force you to learn from your actions, however I think an excessive amount of shame can be detrimental to the development of social skills and behaviors among the youth. This section about shame in the youths intrigued me as well, so it comforts me to see that it piqued your interests as well. Overall, good essay! I love each of your points and your clever analysis of the text and interpretation of Aristotle’s Ethics, which we all know is quite the daunting task. Bravo!
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