The Illumination of Chapter 2
Jun. 24th, 2020 08:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kerravonsenI've been reading my eldest brother's PhD thesis. No, this is not a usual thing for me. But we were discussing punitive justice the other day (as one does) and he suggested I read it, and loaned me a copy -- a big hardbound book which looks twice as big as it actually is, because apparently PhD theses are printed double-spaced on one side of the leaf. Perhaps that's so examiners can write all over it? I dunno. Anyway, he said to skip the start and begin reading at chapter 3. I looked at the table of contents and began reading at chapter 2. Why? Because it looked as if chapter 3 was using concepts defined in chapter 2, so I wanted to understand them first.
Oh, and what is my brother's PhD thesis actually about? It combines theology and psychology in an examination of the Eden narrative in Genesis from a psychological perspective. But not a Jungian symbolic perspective, or of trying to get into the psyche of the author, but examining the psychology of the people in the story. As people, not symbols. But I haven't gotten to that bit yet. I've only just read chapter 2, where there's a defining of terms. The terms of "guilt" and "shame". I don't know about you, but for me, guilt and shame go hand-in-hand so much that I've found it somewhat difficult to untangle them in my head. I mean, I know they're different from each other, but I haven't been sure what precisely it is that distinguishes them. Reading that chapter 2, I it found rather clarifying, so I decided to stop and write this post. The following are my reflections and thinky thoughts about what I got out of it.
- Guilt is in relation to a specific deed.
- Shame is in relation to what others think of you; what they think or what you imagine they might think.
With guilt, you done wrong, it was an action of yours, you did it. And choosing-not-to-act is also an action, which is why people can feel guilty for things they failed to do.
Shame has to do with our relationship with a group of people, of society (or the tribe, or the clan, or the town etc.). Individualism is all very well, but human beings are hard-wired to seek a group or groups to belong to; it is a matter of survival. When you're a cave-man with your stone tools being a hunter-gatherer, if you don't belong to a tribe, you will die. So the belong-to-a-group thing is fundamental. And shame is a sign of not-belonging.
"Anticipatory shame" is from what we imagine others in the group might think of us; we want to avoid the shame, so we do stuff to try to prevent what we anticipate might happen. It is an internalised form of shame.
Then we have external/public shame, which comes in two forms: public disgrace, and stigma. Public disgrace goes with guilt, because it is usually in response to a deed you have done that the group considers to be disgraceful, dishonourable, wrong. So the group publicly shames you.
Stigma, on the other hand, is more insidious and subtle. If a person is stigmatised, it isn't that they have done a wrong thing; it is that they are undesirable; they have characteristics or behaviours which the group deems to be unwanted rather than immoral. The specific things will depend on the group; it can be all sorts of things: obesity, disability, mental illness, weakness, lack of hygiene, lack of wealth, ancestry etc. etc. Stigma is often more about who you are rather than what you've done, which means it might be impossible to remove. Not without removing yourself from the group. The ultimate removal is, of course, suicide. A happier removal is to find another group to belong to instead... if such a group exists. Share your thoughts, if you will.
no subject
Date: 2020-06-24 02:57 pm (UTC)The best examples for me (which I appreciate won't work as well for you, but are where my mind is currently at) are from an RPG I'm currently playing.
Talia is a pacifist ambassador to a race that value aggression, war and combat. Therefore she is stigmatised.
However, thought long discussion and a deepening personal friendship, she is starting to make one member of that race feel guilt about his actions. He does not feel ashamed, as his actions are acceptable to his culture.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-14 12:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-14 07:42 pm (UTC)There are 7 players, and in many cases we're swapping multiple messages per day.
Depending on which race I'm talking to, it can be anything from the ethics of genocide, to puns about teeth!
Talia is great fun to play. She and Sheani have this weird friendship across an enormously wide cultural gulf. I think they're both sliding a little (but only a little) towards each other's values. She's trying to stop his war with another race. He knows she's trying to stop it. They are both honourable enough to protect each other's secrets.
We currently have another race, whom I rather fear have the equivalent of Galadriel's test with the One Ring coming up.
They're a fairly ethical race, but they come from another dimension and are unable to reproduce in ours. It's probably simplest to describe them as tok'ra, even though it's not an exact analogy.
One of my characters recently volunteered as a host to a very ethical member of this race whom he has known and trusted for some time. It now appears that they may be able to reproduce when in the correct host, but that the process may damage the host...
So far, Fey'Dren has resisted the temptation, but Aimataarii (my character) is concerned that other members of her race may not be quite so ethical when faced with this same choice...
He's trying very hard not to get paranoid... (he also has deep religious beliefs, which make him quite interesting to play)
The game is totally free-form when it comes to characters. Virtually no rules at all in that area. All the rules are for space travel, combat, etc.
It's been wonderful in helping keep my mind off all the Coronavirus issues!
no subject
Date: 2020-07-15 03:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-15 05:07 am (UTC)Talia is currently organising a ceremony to bless the alien settlers on a very inhospitable planet. This involves my trying to work out the best Polynesian deity to associate with the geothermal power plant that stops them all freezing to death. Her ceremony will be loud and colourful with music, dancing and alcohol.
Aimataarii has the same religion, but a very different approach. He regards the gods simply as representations of the divine. His request to the gods, for his alien friend to be able to conceive, is basically half an hour of quiet meditation with a focus on submission to the divine and a polite request for aid in whatever form it may take.
He has asked his alien friend to share in his prayer session - still waiting to see if the player agrees.
no subject
Date: 2020-06-25 01:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-14 12:45 pm (UTC)And of course said people are usually acceptable to society.
Yeah, so many "positive thinking" systems are invented by people who are in a position of priviledge already, so of course it has been their experience that all one has to do to succeed is to be optimistic and everything will fall into line. I loathe that "blame the victim" mentality.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-15 12:04 am (UTC)Greg and I started doing private Pilates lessons, one very nice trainer to the two of us, and we're really enjoying it. But I'm unlikely ever to go swimming again, despite loving it, because of judginess. I wouldn't enjoy it, though once I'd be in the sea for hours.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-15 03:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-06-26 02:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-14 12:46 pm (UTC)