Shame - a feeling of embarrassment or humiliation when deficiencies or misconduct, hidden before, are becoming known to others or themselves. That is, any shame - a shame in front of someone, particularly to himself. Shame can be very strong. In 307 BC, philosopher Diodorus died of shame at the time of philosophical dispute, failing to resolve a logical problem, the proposed Stilpon. But this is not the only case of death of shame: shame - the reason the myriad of suicide. To avoid the shame to be captive, the Japanese commit hara-kiri. Likewise, they have done and when considered themselves to be guilty of something. Our very distant ancestors, is not quite reasonable, were amazing, by our standards, method of execution - they were banished from his herd guilty and he was dying. It is because of public rejection, that is shame. Not in the clutches of predators, not from hunger and thirst - he just could not live. He did not even have to do hara-kiri, as the Japanese.

Unfortunately, the nature of shame is almost not studied psychology, and even less in other sciences. Much easier, perhaps, to learn what some cognitive perception or multifactorial correlation. And this seems surprising, because the shame in our lives occurs constantly and it is certainly more important than the above korrellyatsy. Of special note is Freud's theory. Some considerations of shame can be found in the ethical treatises. And often, these arguments do not withstand scrutiny. For example, it is argued that a sense of shame - it's absolute distinction between man and the lower nature, as neither the shame which animals do not in any degree, and a man he appears from time immemorial.

But nothing like this - shame animals have elementary and seeing if the right to this approach. You do not see the shame of wild animals, because they will always be able to hide from you, if you do something that would make them ashamed. If they do not know that you supervise them, it would not be ashamed: there is any shame shame before somebody. And if you watch your pet, it is not ashamed of you because you are not a stranger to him - the same way spouses are not ashamed of each other after several years of living together. But look at least a cat that early spring rolls around happily on the grass, with the first spring sun tummy, on another cat. She immediately stop playing because you are ashamed. And what's more - it behaves just like a human being: she pretends not to play, but was busy. Ashamed, she begins to play a role for the viewer for you. And you're in her place would have done exactly the same way, if rolling on the grass and were taken by a stranger.

Further, very often the shame is reduced only to sexual shame or embarrassment nudity. And, like, animals are not ashamed of the sexual act, but a man is ashamed of. Animals are not ashamed to go naked, and man is ashamed of. And this, supposedly, means that the spiritual principle in man causes to be ashamed of animal instincts. That is, presupposes that all sexual - a sin, and then it turns out that the human soul is ashamed of sin. But the ancient Greeks and Romans, and many other nations of swimming, sunbathing, walking and exercise completely naked. Walking naked on nudist beach is also not ashamed to nudists and almost ashamed for beginners. On sex, I tell you a little later.

"Self and the original meaning of shame would be eliminated," - writes, for example, Solovyov, - "if we could link this moral fact with which any material benefit to an individual or family in the struggle for existence. In this case, the shame would be explained as a manifestation of the animal instinct of self-preservation - the individual or the public. But it is precisely such a relationship and not be found. In animals, submissive instincts, do not have any harmful excesses of self-preservation, but the person as a result of greater power of individual consciousness and will, get the possibility of such abuse, and that's against the most pernicious of them - sex - he is developing on the general grounds of natural selection a useful counterweight to-shame. In this sense of humanity has a fundamental importance that it determines the ethical relationship of man to the material nature.

The man is ashamed of her supremacy in his or her obedience to her, and thereby acknowledges about her, her inner self and the supreme virtue, which is why it should have, instead of being possesses it. "In this case, pre-supposed sexual depravity (and why Strictly speaking, sexuality is "detrimental"? - that it so terrible?) then the shame associated with sexuality, and as a result we come to the conclusion that sex is sinful. Besides, in fact, very visible link, which is supposedly impossible to find: relationship between shame and self-preservation instinct. Cat who played, but turned over on foot when approaching a stranger, thus moved from a state of insecurity in the state of security.

Defencelessness

Wherever we meet with shame, we find and helplessness. Shame came from insecurity and human shame is a human reaction to helplessness. For this reason, ashamed of other people: they can expect hostility at any time. (The child begins to be ashamed of in six months - when learned to distinguish his from strangers.) Can be much more ashamed of the words "I love you" than most unbridled behavior in bed. A prostitute from one of American film said that shy kiss on the lips, though with everything else she had no problems. When even more defenseless people, than when a declaration of love or a kiss?

Sexual shame is associated primarily (but not exclusively) to the fact that during intercourse, a man quite helpless: physically and mentally. Physically, he can not offer resistance possible attack, but morally it is vulnerable to ridicule strangers. If you feel that monkey in the forest full of leopards, do not hide from them during intercourse, then you oshibates. And people may behave more terrifying than the leopards. Now try to answer the question: why do pretty girls less embarrassed to undress at the beach than poorly formed?

Ability to be ashamed of there at all, but people are very very different in this regard. There are people who are very sensitive, down to illness, to social rejection and shame, but there are people complacent, almost not notice it. Complacent, that is "pleased with themselves." People, as a model for which can only be themselves, people who will only listen to his opinion, and that it was "his" most important to them that it may be true or false. They admire their own ready-made ideas, and praise only those qualities, which are endowed with yourself.

Further, are not ashamed of who do not respect, so the person referring more respectful to others and myself will be more able to shame. To my shame is almost incapable of notorious hooligans - precisely because they do not respect anyone. But you can get to be ashamed of and such. For example, a child is isolated and antisocial conduct sessions with psycho-correction. In the early days he was, how can mocks present, behaving arrogantly and defiantly, waiting for the standard responses to their actions. But no one is angry at him because here he is being treated, not punished. He is treated respectfully and smoothly. And now comes the moment when he suddenly felt ashamed - when he began to respect others and respect when their response was to represent for him the value - that is, the moment when he became really vulnerable.

So shame can be taught - but not the teachings and even his own example, and real respect for the individual. A man who has learned to be ashamed of, it will be much less capable of evil than shameless. (Remember that I'm not talking about such nonsense as a sexual shame, shame on because of their own shortcomings and because of their own propensity to evil.) Respect for the individual - one of the strongest medicine against evil. But the whole system of punishment of criminals is based on contempt. So it is not surprising that it only breeds criminals. Lock up criminals in jail as useful as a lock of cockroaches in a bucket of kitchen garbage.