![]() The Cynics were dog-like because they did many of the things dogs do in public, including copulating and defecating. He was a cynic, a term derived from the Greek word κυνικός meaning dog-like. They defy all our expectations about good behaviour, but unlike someone who just has a bad day and then comes to realise this, they never regret their actions.īut what’s all this got to do with Diogenes, the outspoken philosopher sometimes known as ‘the mad Socrates’? Diogenes used to wander around the marketplace of Athens with a lit lamp in full daylight, and would respond to queries about what he was doing with “I’m looking for an honest person, and haven’t found one here yet”. It can be very disconcerting to meet a shameless person. The Look of the Other bounces off them without effect. They jump queues, break rules, make a special case out of themselves, because their behaviour isn’t curbed by the usual social emotions and constraints, because they don’t have a strong internalised sense of what proper behaviour is, and don’t care at all about that. Shameless people just go about their business indifferent to social norms. Shamelessness is the trait of those who are not bothered what others think of them. If it’s true and not disinformation, that Joe Biden released a loud and long fart in the presence of Camilla Parker Bowles whilst at the COP26 summit, he too no doubt felt not a little shame. No longer immersed in his subjective experience he is a “looked at look” seen from the standpoint of the world. At that instant he becomes acutely aware of being seen, of “the burning presence of the Other’s look”, of being judged. He is completely absorbed in the scene until he hears footsteps behind him. In Being and Nothingness, Jean-Paul Sartre imagines a voyeur watching a woman through a keyhole. It’s other people seeing us that triggers shame. Our guilt is within us and comes from a feeling that God, our conscience, or something similar has a window into our soul and finds us wanting. In contrast, we feel guilt when we have broken some internalised rule. Shame is the emotion that we feel when we have broken social norms for good behaviour and other people witness this. There are no signs that this is about to end. Johnson’s time as prime minister has been characterised by shamelessness. Instead, his lackeys appeared on the media defending his action using sophistry. He should, on realising his mistake, have been contrite. A few days later Johnson was walking through a hospital without wearing a face mask, despite strong recommendations that he should wear one, again without shame.
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