[paulhanke]

Does shame depend on culture? Quoting V.F. Cordova:

"One often encounters a description of Native American cultures as being based on 'shame' rather than 'guilt.' Actually both shame and guilt are part of the internalization of rules of conduct. One experiences shame in the face of those who knew that the course of action would bring about specific consequences. One experiences guilt when one confronts oneself. Shame and guilt, in a Western system of conduct, are emotions that are to be overcome. In a Native American society they are what call us to action."

In this past millennium, there was a transformation in Western culture away from the group as the basic unit of human culture and toward the individual as the basic unit of human culture. Such a transformation never occurred in the Americas. What V.F. Cordova describes as the Western tendency to try and overcome shame and guilt can be seen as an attempt to overcome vestigial elements of a way of being that Western culture has evolved away from. A sad commentary?