• PeteMosely
• Humiliation

HUMILIATION

Humiliation: a cursory definition

'Humiliation' denotes the experience or act of being humbled. A stronger definition considers it to be a denial of dignity.

Categorising humiliation: emotional self-assessment

Humiliation belongs to a more fundamental group of emotions, those of self-assessment. These emotions are not only self-conscious but also evaluative of self, whereby this evaluation is often experienced as 'external', as coming from other persons. The emotions of self-assessment also include:

• Pride;
• Embarrassment;
• Shyness;
• Shame;
• Guilt (see Lewis 1993).

Emotions of self-assessment are “centrally concerned with the self and our cognitions about self, and how the self relates to and is seen by others” (Strongman 1996: 121). They have both a perceptual and an evaluative element focus upon self.

Taylor (1985) implies that this emotional self-assessment is an experience of difference: “in experiencing any one of these emotions the person concerned believes of herself that she has deviated from some norm and that in doing so she has altered her standing in the world. The self is the ‘object’ of these emotions, and what is believed amounts to an assessment of that self” (Taylor 1985: 1). This has implications for a person's outlook towards values and morality. Taylor observes that "an investigation of this group of emotions [i.e. of self-assessment] will have a bearing on the assessment of people as moral agents" (Taylor 1985: 16).

Humiliation appears to also fall into two other categories: the existential emotions, which are to do with meanings about who we are, our situation and the quality of our existence; and emotions caused by unfavourable life conditions that militate against attaining personal goals (Lazarus and Lazarus in Pattison 2000: 26).

Lewis (1993) postulates a cognitivist approach to emotions of self-assessment. His ‘cognitive-attributional’ theory (1993) proposes that self-conscious emotions arise from attributions, comprised of three sets of activities:

1. Standards, rules and goals are established (learnt from others);
2. Success or failure of one’s actions with respect to (1) is evaluated; and
3. Attributions are made about the self (internal event) (see Strongman 1996: 122).

Humility and humbleness

A dictionary definition defines ‘humility’ as the state or quality of being humble. ‘Modesty’ has a similar definition, a humble self-opinion whereby the subject refers to her accomplishments, abilities or general self as being of moderate value. ‘Diffidence’ emphasises the subject’s shyness and a lack of self-confidence, whereby a fundamental degree of self-trust is lacking; it appears to denote an attitude of low self-worth.

The term ‘humble’ can denote either a state or an activity. A dictionary defines a state of humbleness as being conscious of one’s failings; unpretentious; lowly; deferential or servile. The activity, to ‘humble’ the other, is defined as causing the other to become humble, to lower their status; it can imply the act of humiliating the other. ‘Humble’ has its roots in the Latin humilis and humus, the former meaning low, the latter, ground.

Aristotle (1976) meditated upon modesty in his description of mean states of feelings and emotions, considering it intermediate between shyness and shamelessness “modesty is not a virtue, but the modest man too is praised” (106).

Humility is often regarded positively by others, as being a good character trait, a virtue. The BACP (2002) Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy refers to humility as a ‘personal moral quality’, defining it as “the ability to assess accurately and acknowledge one’s strengths and weaknesses” (2002: 4).

Epistemological Humbleness ‘Epistemological humbleness’ is an attitude of modest knowledge about the other. Peter Schmid (2001) postulates this attitude as essentially therapeutic. It consists being non-directive towards the other, remaining genuine, respectful and empathic. This “humble attitude at the sight of the uniqueness of the other [is an] ability to be surprised by the Other and to be open to what the Other is willing to reveal as a person. It is a humble attitude towards the unknown ” (Schmid 2001: 66). Schmid considered this attitude to be a precondition for authentic encounter, not passive in its nature but “an active expression of being impressed by the Other (and not one’s own ideas, combinations and solution proposals) and being interested in him or her” (68).

The ability to be surprised by the Other and to be open to what the Other is willing to reveal as a person (page??)

Humbling the other can be an act of levelling, power, “ideas above her station”

Humiliation as Action: being humiliated and humiliating others

Humiliation as Emotion

Humiliation in Relation from Other Processes

• Humbleness;
• Other emotions of self-assessment;
• Other emotions concerning loss (e.g. sadness, jealousy (fear of loss));
• Self-respect and dignity;

Distinguishing Humiliation from Shame

Responsibility

Value

Through both humiliation and shame a person is revealed to their self as existing for others. The other is experienced as a subject, which entails a loss of my own subjectivity: “the death of my possibilities causes me to experience the Other’s freedom” (Sartre 1949: 271).

Both humiliation and shame are pre-reflective emotions.

The fundamental difference between humiliation and shame is:

See

Embarrassment

“Embarrassment is usually a quickly passing sense of awkwardness” (Solomon 1993: 246). Object: one’s own actions and circumstances; Criteria: embarrassed by what he takes to be the opinions of others. Status: momentary inferiority; Evaluation: negative; Responsibility: I judge myself innocent (contrasted with shame); Desire: to hide (see Solomon: 246-7).

Similar to shame but Less intense (not synonymous); an aspect of shame. Occurs in situations of public failure.

Guilt

“key emotion in the development of personal and social responsibility and the phenomena of conscience” (Izard 1991: 139). Often occurs with shame. Involves self-evaluation (cf. shame evaluations of others). Adaptative function: prompts social responsibility. Existential guilt: Self-responsibility. Distinction: emotionally guilty; legally guilty (of a crime).How does guilt become internalised?

Self-Respect as Background to Humiliation

Without a predisposition of self-respect, experiencing humiliation is impossible. Humiliation is a challenge to one’s self-worth; the exists an experience of something being

The act of humiliating also involves an respect.

Notes on Reading

Gabriele Taylor, Pride, Shame, and Guilt: PeteMosely/NotesTaylor

Bibliography

Aristotle, Ethics (1975) trans. by J. Thomson London: Penguin.

Lazarus, R. and Lazarus, B. (1994). Passion and Reason. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pattison, S. (2000). Shame: Theory, Therapy, Theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Solomon, R. (1993). The Passions: Emotions and the Meaning of Life. Indiana: Hackett.

Taylor, G. (1985). Pride, Shame, and Guilt. NY: Oxford University Press.

Further Reading

Izard, C. E. (1991). The Psychology of Emotions. NY: Plenum.

Lewis, M. (1992). Shame, the Exposed Self. NY: Free Press.Lewis, M. (1993). ‘Self-concsious emotions: embarrasment, pride, shame and guilt’ in Lewis and Haviland (eds.) Handbook of Emotions. NY: The Guilford Press.

Lazarus, R. and Lazarus, B. (1994). Passion and Reason. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lewis, M. and Saarni C. (eds.) (1992). The Socialisation of Emotions. NY: Plenum Press.