Behavioral and Brain Sciences



Open Peer Commentary

Shame, violence, and perpetrators' voices


Nancy Nyquist Potter a1 nancy.potter@louisville.edu
a1 Department of Philosophy, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292.

Article author query
potter nn   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 

Abstract

Fostering shame in societies may not curb violence, because shame is alienating. The person experiencing shame may not care enough about others to curb violent instincts. Furthermore, men may be less shame-prone than are women. Finally, if shame is too prevalent in a society, perpetrators may be reluctant to talk about their actions and motives, if indeed they know their own motives. We may be unable accurately to discover how perpetrators think about their own violence.