Axiological Aspects of Shame
Fr. Kazimierz M. WOLSZA
Katedra Filozofii Systematycznej i Historii Filozofii, Wydział Teologiczny, Uniwersytet Opolski, ul. Drzymały 1a, 45-342 Opole, Poland , PolandAbstract
The article describes the experience of shame as related to the experience of value. Shame may be experienced within the horizon of values accepted by the person in question. Shame is caused either by the feeling of guilt or by the feeling of failure to meet the person’s standards of behavior, or as it is experienced as shame for others. Shame is also a guardian of values. It protects the most intimate sphere of the human being, namely, that of personal beliefs, personal actions and sexuality. In contradistinction to shame, one may speak of shamelessness. The present culture of the media has generated new forms of shamelessness. The differences between the private and intimate spheres on the one hand, and the public sphere on the other, are being gradually obliterated, which results in the so-called oversharing of private and personal content. The modern culture of shamelessness undermines the approach to the human being as a person and subject.
Translated by Dorota Chabrajska
Katedra Filozofii Systematycznej i Historii Filozofii, Wydział Teologiczny, Uniwersytet Opolski, ul. Drzymały 1a, 45-342 Opole, Poland
