Definitions HQ

Shame (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a feminine characteristic par excellence and has as its purpose concealment of genital deficiency.

Shame (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a mental dam against the aggressive instinct or the destructive passion for the real. Unlike guilt, shame does not seek to penetrate surfaces or tear away veils... rather, it seeks comfort in them, hides itself in them as in a safe haven.

Shame (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a reaction-formation and a defense against excessive pleasure, against libidinous feelings.

Shame (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠causally connected to sexual inhibitions and to certain forms of sexual perversion.

Shame (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠good and beneficial insofar as it AIDS the development of a normal personality that is, up to the time of sexual maturity and the genital integration.

Shame (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠socially useful as it directs sexual energy away from the self and toward tasks necessary for the evolution of the mankind. It is thus a reaction formation.

Shame (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠somewhere between a child's anxiety and an adult's bad conscience. It concerns being looked at and being found out and therefore despised. It is closer to embarrassment than to guilt.

Shame (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the more 'primitive' or 'infantile' emotion, one that in the normal course of things should be eclipsed by the more complex emotion of guilt. Guilt is based on the internalization of values, whereas shame is experienced earlier and is based on external disapproval by others. Shame should yield to guilt in the course of moral development not only on the level of the individual but also on the level of the history of civilization.

Shame (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the survival of the childhood idea of a 'dirty little secret' which each of us carries about him, and which speaks to us not only of hidden dirt, but also of forbidden pleasures.