What is the distinction between guilt and shame?

Question

Is Guilt the judgement we pass on ourselves? Is it also that voice inside our head telling us that we did somthing wrong? Is Shame the sense of being judged by someone else? And is anyone supposed to judge you but God? An how can a person without a consciece do terrible thing and not feel guilty?

Answer 1

Guilt is the feeling of doing something wrong, and knowing it is wrong. Shame is a feeling associated with guilt with certain wrong doings. For example, if I break the speed limit, I am guilty of breaking the law. Most people would not be shameful of this act.

If I was speeding, ran a red light, t-boned a car, and killed the occupants, not only am I guilty of breaking the law, but I committed a shameful act.

Some people do not feel shame. They know they are guilty. We know what is right or wrong. But, not everyone is shameful of their actions.

We can use righteous judgment against people breaking laws (both spiritual or temporal). We have no right to pass execution of judgment. This is why blowing up abortion clinics are so grievious. The person does not have the authority to pass sentence on another human.

Answer 2

I can only answer this on a personal level. I feel that shame is much stronger than guilt. I can feel guilt on a number of different levels, even for something as small as eating junk food when I know I should've had something better, or telling a little white lie. It's also connected to others' beliefs of what I should do (for instance, my mother very much believed in guilt as a motivator). When I feel true shame, though, it's extremely intense. I know full well that I've done wrong, and am genuinely embarrassed. I feel sick inside about what I've done. It's a horrible feeling. In such a case, the judgment from myself is far worse than that of other people. Other people may look at me askance or talk behind my back, but I have to live with the shame I've brought upon myself.

Answer 3

that that guilt is not sufficient to motivate a person to change his moral character; only shame can spur a person to rebuild the self or the environment in which he has to live. Williams identifies guilt with actions, and shame with self. I feel guilty about something I have done – it is associated not with my overall sense of being or sense of myself, but something which I have done, which may be an isolated incident. Shame, on the other hand, calls into question the very essence of self.

I attended a conference in which Professor Michael Stocker suggested that most of the time if we experience guilt we should experience shame; otherwise, the guilt is mistaken, misplaced or pathological. It didn’t take me long to think of instances in which that simply isn’t the case, and then I had to understand why such instances of guilt do not involve shame nor should they. It has to do with identification of the moral self and the values toward which the moral self strives and whether or not the incident in question involves those sacred values.

For example: I have a conversation with a friend who is speaking poorly of a mutual friend. After the conversation she asks me not to tell the third party what she’s said. However, I feel very strongly that the third party should know what was said, and so I betray a trust and tell her.

Answer 4

Guilt is feeling bad about something you did. Shame is feeling bad about who you are as a person.

Feeling guilt is an indicator that one has acted against ones morals. But sometimes its ones morals that need to change.

When you feel shame after being judged by someone else you are attaching that judgement to your identity as a person rather than to the action that illicited the judgement. Its the belief that 'I am a bad person" that is being triggered and reinforced. It takes insight and practice to challenge this belief.

Answer 5

To me shame is more like embarrassment and guilt is more like blame. Guilt is sometimes well placed but both can be pathetic tricks the devil uses to separate us from God. There's just been one time when we met with someone in the presence of our pastor to speak about an issue. The pastor didn't judge either but expected that person to face the responsibility he had to us. The pastor also said judge not that ye be not judged. We were glad to be able to resolve that issue in the Biblical order.

Answer 6

I think shame comes from guilt. Guilt is the feeling we have after we did something wrong and we know we did something wrong--it comes from our conscience. This can lead to shame which is more of an embarrassment for what we did.

A person can do a terrible thing and not feel guilty, because he/she either has no conscience or ignores his/her conscience or the person can justify the act and alleve his/her conscience

Answer 7

Guilt is the knowledge that we have done something bad. It is an internal judgment.

Shame is the belief that we are bad people. It is an external label.

It is possible to feel guilt without shame, but not shame without guilt. Someone literally without a conscience--that is, no internal sense of what is right and what is not--can feel niether.

Answer 8

To feel a sense of guilt is to have a working conscience that tells you, you have done something wrong. Guilt can be pretty deep, especially if a man repents of a violent crime.

Shame is a deeper sense of guilt because shame carries along with it something so deeply sinful that we want to hide our very being from others. Shame many times concerns sins of a sexual nature. Humility places us in a proper relationship with God. He is Creator, we are creators, we owe him Love, respect and service. Shame is something that we have done against love or respect, we have done something so bad in devious way to others that we cannot stand ourselves.
If guilt were likened to "I did a bad thing" then Shame would be likened to "Oh My God, I am so bad, I did something so wrong."

Answer 9

Shame is honest. Feeling bad for hurting someone. Guilt is an ego trip! Indulging in self-pity because we hurt somebody.

Answer 10

An act which cause distress and pain because of an act that was caused by you and you feel responsible for it, that is called guilt.

Shame can be described as an act of yours where in you fell short of your own set standards, or values. You feel bad you did this. then you are ashamed of your self.