PRAISE OF SHAME
- Jun 21
- 3 min read
There are things that almost no one talks about, and that's precisely why they must be addressed on occasion... These days, the wonderful virtue of shame is almost forgotten, so it lives hidden and ashamed. Today, shame is vilified and undervalued. I'll start by defining it: shame is the virtue that serves to protect all the others. It is the virtue that compels us not to reveal our worst qualities to others.
It's possible for someone to have nothing good to show, but it seems impossible for them to have nothing bad to hide. The usefulness of shame is indisputable:
First, it prevents bad examples from being confused with good ones, misleading inexperienced people.
In addition to this, shame has a second fundamental use: it makes life much more pleasant for all of us: Who likes to surround themselves with bad, dirty or ugly things?
The third use of shame is more difficult to understand, but no less important: it helps avoid bad reputation.
Shame helps us achieve and retain the recognition we've earned for the good things we've done, because like good smells, good, beautiful, and desirable things always run the risk of being overshadowed by bad things.
Sincerity is another virtue, although I don't think it's as important. The obligation to be sincere, truthful, and faithful must be reconciled with the obligation to be prudent, fair, and respectful. The overvaluation of sincerity has led to the disdain of shame. It seems that in our time, sincerity is so important and so valued that we are obliged to tell absolutely everything to everyone. It seems we can never keep anything to ourselves, even if it's unpleasant or inconvenient…
Being shameful doesn't mean being a liar. It's not about lying about things, but simply about omitting from your story the morbid and gruesome details of what is bad, wrong, or has gone wrong. Failure shouldn't be hidden, but—out of shame—ruin and failure shouldn't become anyone's calling card. And even less so when you need to gain someone's trust. Shame also prevents you from mentioning things that hurt, when remembering them is unnecessary or inconvenient: even if they're true !
Shame is nothing more than a form of respect, since no one is obligated to see all the disgust, calamities, and disasters happening around us. The conclusion is simple: honesty often goes hand in hand with shame.
The envious always praise "sincerity" and despise shame. Since the envious are incapable of admiring merit, they try to look for mistakes and defects. The envious always accuse the shameful of being cowards and the proud of being liars. Therefore, the envious are always great friends of the shameless and great enemies of the proud. This is an interesting fact because it can help us locate the envious and thus protect ourselves from them.
It's also worth comparing shame with pride, which is also another virtue, but one that has an active character. The virtue called pride obliges us to show others what we have achieved or accomplished, when it is good or appropriate. When someone is legitimately proud of something, they have the duty to act to show and explain it, so that it serves as an example, direction, and guide to others. Shame, on the other hand, is a virtue that has a passive character; it is a virtue that obliges us to refrain from showing, saying, or doing. Although it is clear that not everyone values things the same way.
That's why there are people who take pride in things that we think should make them ashamed. Although this is a different problem: it's a problem of the scale of values. And that scale is the essence of people's character.
Jorge Jiménez Leube
May 2025
Attribution 4.0 International
CC BY 4.0
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