One of the key discussions Lebron
touches on is the tension between shame and guilt. It’s largely something he
discusses in the reading we did for the paper instead of the reading for the
seminar, but it seems like a pivotal issue for Lebron. We discussed it briefly
in my tutorial, but I thought it would be productive to bring it up again.
Lebron sees guilt as the
appropriate response to the present situation regarding racism in America: “We
affirm better, but we rarely do better, […] racial inequality remains a
distinctive feature of American society, and, for this reason, the problem of racial
inequality ought to be a source of great shame.” (20) He uses shame as a key
tool to motivate positive change, arguing: “Shame on this view can support out
best aspirations in a manner beyond helping make our vision for a better way
clearer; indeed, it can help bring our deliberations and actions into coherence
with our prior affirmed ideals.” (25)
I can’t help but disagree with
Lebron’s optimistic view of the outcome of shame. It seems improbable to me
that shame could possibly be a reliable motivator on the national level in
order to achieve change of the kind he is advocating. I understand that his aim
is to trigger shame in people—which would imply that they recognise their own
fault and the obligation to do better. While this seems like a good start, people
are not amendable to self-criticism. Within the social justice tradition self-criticism
is encouraged, but on a larger societal scale there is little to no chance of
people embracing shame as the appropriate moral response, regardless of how apt
Lebron’s argument is.
Additionally, it seems to me that
shame triggers guilt, and guilt is a problematic motivator of behaviour. Being called
out and criticised leads to people going on the defensive and entrenching their
position, quite the contrary of what Lebron is looking for.
I fully concede that this is a
problematic argument—shame is the right response; I’m simply disagreeing about
the likely results of such a strategy. Lebron is targeting a “a more secure way
of directly addressing our co-participant’s ethical shortcoming[s].” (34) It
therefore seems appropriate to expect a more concrete strategy that goes above
an ideal response and aims to achieve guaranteed results.
Hey Thomas!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read his argument, I was also skeptical on how shame will bring out Lebron’s desired result, but upon more reflection, I would have to agree with Lebron that shame is the appropriate tool to achieve his outcome. In addition to directing us to the problem, shame not only provides us with the means to rectify the situation, but also the motivation to adjust our behavior. Shame establishes a sense of commitment to improve our current situation because shame targets the exact principles on how we conduct our lives. Since we are committed to changing our behavior, Lebron's desired results will take place. Furthermore, as an “important reflective mechanism,” shame allows for self-criticism (24). Through shame, we can critically evaluate ourselves as the “judger and judged” (22). Guilt, on the other hand, does not allow us to engage in this dual role. With guilt, we simply feel bad for our actions and may experience a sense of remorse, but this feeling does not have “substantive correspondence to our respective principles” (22). Thus, guilt does not ensure the same level of commitment as shame does.
Hi Thomas!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to respond -- we did talk about this in tutorial. :) I think I might disagree with an assumption that you are making. So to clarify:
Lebron believes shame has the capacity to work because people can change their minds upon reflection. He thinks that self-criticism can instigate that reflection.
Do you believe that self-criticism does not instigate reflection? Or do you believe that upon reflection, people cannot change their minds?
Or something else entirely? It would be helpful if you could say exactly which step you think fails to produce Lebron's expected outcome.
Thomas, I know you and I have chatted about this over the last few days, and I am excited to continue the debate here...
ReplyDeleteI think the importance of Shame for Lebron is that it is a tool to combat the implicit racism that is an issue in today's society. He repeatedly notes that while explicit racism is much less prevalent in modern society than slave and pre-civil rights america, we still struggle with implicit racism. It is the nature of that implicit racism, a racism that many people don't realize they are engaging in until it is called out, that make shame a powerful tool for combating it. Shame is an emotion that we feel in relation to things we don't consciously do. I feel shame when I realize I have unconsciously been doing something wrong that doesn't live up to standards I hold myself to: I don't feel the shame of taking advantage of a friend by not giving them gas money when they lend me their car until someone points out that it is the right thing to do. This unintended action nature of shame is what makes it the proper tool for Lebron's attempts to address national character.Guilt on the other hand is an emotion related to actions explicitly taken or not, and would not be an effective tool in combating implicit racism.