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How is shame different from "just being a decent person"?
by dmje 20d ago
How is shame different from "just being a decent person"?
- layer8 20d agoI believe all four combinations exist in practice.
- dguest 20d agoIt's the same thing, and both are vulnerable to disingenuous applications of cultural relativism. You'll see similar arguments on this thread: "shame is just what you don't approve of", etc. Yes, it's just about being a decent person, and no, scientists still haven't discovered a moral axis in the universe that says what that means. Unfortunately we're in a position where we have to explain that "just be a decent person", which is an inclination shared by 95% of people anyway, isn't some vestigial instinct that modern humans should be ridding themselves of.
- xelxebar 20d agoShame is a feeling, "decent person" is a moral characterization. The former might be part of an insentive structure leading to the latter.