- 著者
-
中村 信隆
- 出版者
- 日本哲学会
- 雑誌
- 哲学 (ISSN:03873358)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.2018, no.69, pp.215-229, 2018-04-01 (Released:2018-08-01)
- 参考文献数
- 19
Many philosophers suspect that the emotion of shame cannot play a significant
role in morality because shame is the reaction to others’ contempt and therefore, a
heteronomous emotion. This paper aims to defend the view that shame is a morally
significant emotion by focusing on one form of reproach —“shame on you.” We employ
this reproach, for example, with a President who establishes discriminatory
policies or a scientist who falsifies data in his academic paper and in these cases, we
assume this reproach is morally important. Therefore, what does “shame on you”
imply? How can it be morally justified? Moreover, what are its characteristics? In
this paper, I answer these questions by clarifying the notions of shame and self-respect.
The paper proceeds as follows. First, I resolve the issue of autonomy and heteronomy
in the emotion of shame based on Gabriele Taylor’s observation that shame
contains two elements — a self-directed adverse judgment and a notion of an audience.
I argue that the adverse judgment is always rendered autonomously, but the
audience can be either autonomous or heteronomous; essentially, agents feel shame
either in their own eyes or in the eyes of others. Second, I explain the meaning of
“shame on you” and demonstrate the moral validity of this reproach by referring to
the nature and classification of self-respect. Finally, I examine the distinctive significance
of “shame on you.” Examining the different characteristics of shame and guilt,
I argue that this form of reproach involves more a comprehensive assessment of
the agent than other forms of reproach that concern, for example, the violations of
moral rules.