It is presumed that for this conversation one would already be clear on the differences between guilt, shame and embarrassment, both collectively (ingroup) as well as individually, (self.)

And so, onward…

At this point we must leave the safe, albeit confusing, world of the self and branch out in our observations. What can we expect from guilt and shame, on as grand a scale as that of a human society?  When we say that a culture is either shame based or guilt based we are differentiating between dichotomous perceived social consequences. In 1946 Ruth Benedict, an American Anthropologist wrote a book called “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” that attempted to define the difference between a guilt culture (represented by America) and a shame culture (represented by Japan.) Essentially the differences, as she saw them,  are illustrated by this simple chart below.

But it basically describes two key differences that will become clear if you keep reading…

    Benedict was attempting to compare and contrast the differences between American and Japanese cultures. The possible propagandist reasons for producing such a study, nor even any relevant moral bias present in the work do not sully our investigations. In fact, in the spirit of the whole thing, I see it as Cowboy Culture vs. Samurai Culture. Both the Cowboy and the Samurai have honor. Both are powerful and mysterious and I should be able to exploit their metaphorical value without offending either represented parties, too much.  It’s quite plain to see the differences demonstrated by this chart: In a guilt culture our Cowboy protests his innocence, is concerned with justice, is honest and forthright. He also expects you to stand up to him and be as forthright as he is. The Samurai is honor bound and as honor (the opposite of shame,) is bestowed by others he is reliant upon you to make him what he is. Even the suggestion of transgression is too great a burden to bear. He will continue to hide any guilt, apparently without consequence, as long he can. So while the chart makes the Samurai look weak, needy and sneaky, with his reactions easily programmable by social norms, the Cowboy, justice bound, is democratic, free and responsible. What the chart doesn’t address is how the Cowboy is selfish, how he, as someone who can be accused and not suffer, is spoiled. The Cowboy is left to his own devices while the Samurai is accountable to his culture. There are Anthropological reasons for this we can easily suss out by  merely taking into account the geography, isolation and age of the Japanese culture. No one, however, is talking about how one of these things seems more altruistic than the other, or the threat this fact poses. Guilt Culture is: “Sit down. Shut up. Do as I say. Because I told you so. Shame culture says, “What is wrong with you? You  must be some kind of idiot if you do or don’t think “this” or “that” way. You end up, when you reduce it to the level of one’s experience of it,  in a game of either “I say” or “They say.” (Thus, selfishness vs. altruism.) It then becomes a question of “What do they say?”  and therein lay dangers.  

      The problem with Ruth’s argument is in the determination of “just what the hell is happening on this chart?” She is not measuring or defining anything by essentially asking, “How is it that a shame based culture feels differently about being guilty than a guilt based culture feels about feeling guilty.” Ruth’s mistake is that she appears to be comparing and contrasting two different logical species. She is attempting to mash together two incongruent quantifications. It shouldn’t be about being guilty and feeling ashamed, is should be about feeling guilty and feeling ashamed. Again, the confusion with “being” vs. “feeling.” Furthermore, these charts categorize our feelings of guilt in either a guilt based culture or shame based culture, and say nothing about the categorization of shame in both cultures. If one attempts to argue that Ruth is asking “Are we shamed by our guilt, dependent on culture type?” (which is what she seems to want to ask,) she is, by utilizing the above chart as an answer, actually only asking, “Is our guilt known?” which is to either mistake embarrassment for shame or guilt for shame.

    I bring up Benedict’s chart only to help differentiate how both cultures associate guilty feelings from shame feelings and vice versa. I’m certainly not here to pick a fight with Ruth Benedict’s chart, especially considering that, despite her unscientific way of deliberating her theory, it is, at it’s core, correct. The Cowboy does protest his innocence and the Samurai is honor bound. I have already stated that because embarrassment is independent of either shame or guilt, but further to that confusion; feeling guilty  is only the product of either being guilty or perceiving yourself to be guilty, regardless of culture. If you don’t think your guilty, you’re not going to feel guilty. However, feeling ashamed can be either the product of being guilty or being perceived as guilty, also regardless of culture. This is because one can reasonably believe, “There must be something wrong with me if they think I’m guilty of that.”

     Ruth’s chart is a categorization of appearances. So if the Samurai’s guilt is not known, he has the appearance of innocence, he is not ashamed. However, as mentioned above, this does not take into account the self assignation of shame via the superego, built from social constructs. Similarly, the Samurai may feel shame at the mere accusation of guilt. While this may be true, on the chart and in life, it is certainly doesn’t have to be true. What if I feel guilty of doing something wrong for what I feel are the right reasons. This again is appearances, but this time the Samurai has donned a Cowboy hat, and judges himself. Is it going to be culturally significant if I steal medicine I can’t afford? Conversely, if the Cowboy stole the medicine, would he be ashamed or even feel guilty? Would the people at the pharmacy think he was guilty, would the family of the sick person think the Cowboy should be ashamed? It has become a matter of degrees. In the language the chart uses, the Cowboy “should” feel guilty if he is, yet the Samurai “does” feel ashamed by any accusation.

     This makes shame culture insistent and guilt culture suggestive. Due to the fact that cultural guilt and shame are influenced by social norms, yet ultimately processed by you, it all comes down to, and ends, with you. If it ends with you, how is it that cultural guilt and shame even exist? It turns out that it is a lengthy changing of habits of perception. In our times, modernity provides the opportunity for an increase in the power of the individual. When one gains power over their “selves,” the idea of this power becomes ingrained into the psyche of the society, until finally, the Eastern paradigm becomes more like the Western, the Western more like the Eastern and the individual chooses to deal with these feelings independently, rather than as any particular culture dictates. Once this reality becomes social norm we become products of our own choosing, or as my Philosopher friend Gerhard Adam suggested, “Humans domesticating themselves.” Of course, the problems inherent in this reality are the same as we find ourselves dealing with in our concerns of complexity, modernity, etc. We are not actually able to make up our own minds. If one could consciously contemplate any paradigm fully, would one be able to separate truths from lies, right from wrong, suggestion from insistence, etc? Perhaps, some small part of the equation can be trusted, if you work hard, at every idea, all the time. This also says nothing of our awareness of the situation, indeed, for most of us, the hidden hand of influence remains unexamined. We react, we know not why.

The effects of the growing Western shame culture can be further examined at

http://www.scientificblogging.com/assignee039s_prerogative/blog/shame_theory_part_i_name_game