Shame and a Theory of war and violence

Publication date: March–April 2018
Source:Aggression and Violent Behavior, Volume 39
Author(s): Thomas Scheff, G. Reginald Daniel, Joseph Sterphone
It is possible that war in modern societies is largely driven by emotions, but in a manner that is almost completely hidden. Modernity rationalizes the self and tends to ignore emotions, which can result in the total hiding of humiliation leads to vengeance. This essay outlines a theory of the social-emotional world implied in the work of C. H. Cooley, whose concept of the "looking-glass self" can be used as antidote to the assumptions of modernity: the self is based on "living in the mind" of others, resulting in feeling either pride or shame. This essay proposes that the complete hiding of shame can lead to feedback loops with no natural limit. These ideas may help explain the role of France in causing WWI, and Hitler's rise to power in Germany.



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