Abstract
This essay develops a Confucian theory of shame within a framework of related concepts, including concepts of value, personhood, and human flourishing. It proposes that all of these concepts should be understood in terms of a metaphysical concept of harmony (he). Moreover, it argues that this concept of harmony entails a relational experience of value, such that the experience of self-value and ‘other value’ are deeply intertwined. An important implication of this theory is that the harmonic realization of value that is required for human flourishing necessarily involves heightened sensitivity to shame. The goal of this essay is not only to describe Confucian shame but also to view the human experience of shame through a distinctly Confucian lens. Accordingly, it offers a Confucian take on the pathology of shame, as well as recent debates concerning the role of shame in modern society.
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Notes
In the Lunyu, see 4.9, 4.22, 5.15, 5.25, 8.13, 9.27, 13.20; in the Mengzi, 2A7, 4B18, 5B5, 7A6, 7A7; in the Xunzi, see especially 18.9 discussed in Van Norden (2002), p. 65.
Use of this term may be anachronistic in the classical context. Nevertheless, I believe that something like supreme harmony (tai he) functioned as a guiding principle of Confucian thought before it was explicitly articulated as an ideal. In any case, it is not necessary to settle this question in order to appreciate a key predicament of the Confucian worldview: li and he require one another for their definition, and while this circularity is not necessarily vicious, only the most facile reading of harmony as socially constructed would deny that this circularity can be problematic.
For this metaphor to work, the relevant perspective must be ‘on the ground’ from which a limited range of local topological changes are visible. Note that this image registers the trap of local optima: just as one has to descend a smaller peak before one can ascend a bigger one, sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better, a truism that helps to explain how we can remain stuck in bad situations even when better options are available. I believe that the Analects warns against pursuing harmony for its own sake ‘when things are not going well’ precisely for this reason.
Balance and contrast are intended here only as primary examples of the normative traits of harmony. For a more comprehensive discussion, see, for example, Grange (1997).
Something like existential shame is described by Nussbaum in the following passage: ‘Human beings are deeply troubled about being human—about being highly intelligent and resourceful, on the one hand, but weak and vulnerable, helpless against death, on the other.’ (2004, p. 336).
For Nussbaum, shame can be ‘constructive’ only on two conditions: ‘if it reinforces morally good norms and it is non- or anti-narcissistic’ (2004, p. 213). Note the emphasis on reinforcement rather than discernment.
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Barrett, N.F. A Confucian Theory of Shame. SOPHIA 54, 143–163 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-014-0426-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-014-0426-0