This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
I draw this example form Sabini and Silver, 5, p. 10. The following case – number 6 – which uses the same details yet alters them, is my own.
Szabados, 8–90, p. 345.
Taylor, 6, p. 74.
Shame, unlike embarrassment, has gained extensive attention from philosophers aiming to analyze its nature. In fact, some of the portrayals of embarrassment which I discuss in this article are taken from books or articles that deal with shame, and refer to embarrassment mainly for purposes of comparison. As my aim is to offer an account of embarrassment, and not of shame, I will not deal with the latter. Suffice it to say that shame does not necessarily involve the notion of public interaction that I ascribe to embarrassment. One can be ashamed of her thoughts, views, impulses, etc., without interacting, or even imagining an interaction, with anybody else. Another difference between the two is that shame has to do with seeing ourselves in a negative light, while embarrassment, as case #7 manifests, can be connected to a positive appraisal. Also, even when embarrassment is connected to a negative feature of ours, it is often not a grave one. The negative features of ours that we are embarrassed about seem to be lesser in degree than the ones we are ashamed of. This last notion is one that I will attend to in my discussion.
Sabini and Silver, 5, p. 11.
Szabados, 8–90, p. 345.
Sabini and Silver, 5, p. 11.
Taylor, 6, p. 75.
Goffman, 3, p. 268.
Purshouse, 7, pp. 530–531.
Ibid, p. 532.
I am indebted to an anonymous referee for this remark.
Ibid, p. 537.
Julien A. Deonna, Raffaele Rodogno, and Fabrice Teroni, 1, p. 116.
Sabini and Silver, 5, p. 11.
Harré, 4, p. 197.
C.f. Purshouse, 7, p. 528.
Goffman, 3, p. 266.
Purshouse, 7, p. 530.
Ibid.
Ibid, p. 531.
Ibid, note 22.
References
Deonna, Julien A., Raffaele Rodogno, and Fabrice Teroni. 2012. In Defense of Shame. New York: Oxford University Press.
Edelmann, Robert J. 1990. Embarrassment and blushing: A component-process model, some initial descriptive and cross-cultural data. In Shyness and Embarrassment: Perspectives From Social Psychology, ed. W. Ray Crozier, 205–229. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Goffman, Erving. 1956. Embarrassment and social organization. American Journal of Sociology 62: 264–271.
Harré, Rom. 1990. Embarrassment: A conceptual analysis. In Shyness and Embarrassment: Perspectives From Social Psychology, ed. W. RayCrozier, 181–204. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sabini, John, and Mauri Silver. 1997. In defense of shame: Shame in the context of guilt and embarrassment. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 27: 1–15.
Taylor, Gabriele. 1985. Pride, Shame, and Guilt: Emotions of Self-Assessment. New York: Oxford University Press.
Purshouse, Luke. 2001. Embarrassment: A philosophical analysis. Philosophy 76: 515–540.
Béla Szabados. 1989–1990. Embarrassment and self-esteem. Journal of Philosophical Research 15: 341–349.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Benziman, Y. Embarrassment. J Value Inquiry 54, 77–89 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10790-019-09685-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10790-019-09685-6