guilt - innate or learned?

[Kameradin]

This:

Originally Posted by Vic 2.0

Maybe we should ask if empathy is innate? Because if it is, the only thing needed to develop feelings of guilt is the realization that you caused another person (or maybe an animal) pain or suffering.

It isn't just society that sets the stage for guilt; it's human interaction. If two people were raised together in a bubble with nothing but their basic needs met, would one of them feel guilty upon hurting the other? I think it's safe to say they would.

And this:

Originally Posted by Trimac20

I think it depends on what it is:

Guilt over having pre-marital sex: learned/cultural

Guilt over killing a family member: innate

The reason babies don't feel guilt is because their brains haven't yet fully matured. Babies can't understand object permanence either (they can't understand that an object continues to exist if hidden from view) until they're several months old, but that doesn't mean they won't get to that point eventually.

I've read a few books about psychopathy and the consensus seems to be that their physiology (brain) is flawed, otherwise they'd be able to experience empathy and as a result, guilt when appropriate.

As Trimac said, it's not possible for a normal human being to kill one of their parents and then feel completely at ease, especially if they just did it for the hell of it, since we evolved to bond and connect with others (even to be self-sacrificial, if necessary) = empathy.

But of course, no one feels "naturally" guilty for not having attended mass or for having had sex with their girlfriend (assuming she also wanted to have sex), so obviously a lot of what we feel guilty of these days is culturally prescribed.

[CArizona]

Basically it seems pretty "dog eat dog" out in the "wild." Species "feed off" each other in order to secure their survival...It's different when we bring animals into our home and "domesticate" them. We are putting them through a socialization process just like it's the job and duty of parents to teach their kids (so-called) "right" from "wrong" and socialization skills. (So they will eventually "fit" into the adult world.)...Basically it all boils down to learning to "share" and learning to "care" about others...Kids need to be taught that everyone has feelings and "rights." (And not just them!)...This is where "healthy guilt" and "healthy shame" comes in. (Teaching kids to respect other peoples' boundaries and "rights.")...Plenty of parents practice "unhealthy guilt" and "unhealthy shame" at times as a control tactic to keep their kids in the "fold." Or through projection. (Where parents "dump" their "old baggage" and unresolved issues from their past onto their children in "toxic" ways.)...When my sons were babies they could be happy and friendly to me at times. But they didn't have any guilt about "running me ragged." This all had to be taught! They learned to be considerate of me and others over time. (And through "training.")

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Kameradin

This:



And this:





The reason babies don't feel guilt is because their brains haven't yet fully matured. Babies can't understand object permanence either (they can't understand that an object continues to exist if hidden from view) until they're several months old, but that doesn't mean they won't get to that point eventually.

I've read a few books about psychopathy and the consensus seems to be that their physiology (brain) is flawed, otherwise they'd be able to experience empathy and as a result, guilt when appropriate.

As Trimac said, it's not possible for a normal human being to kill one of their parents and then feel completely at ease, especially if they just did it for the hell of it, since we evolved to bond and connect with others (even to be self-sacrificial, if necessary) = empathy.

But of course, no one feels "naturally" guilty for not having attended mass or for having had sex with their girlfriend (assuming she also wanted to have sex), so obviously a lot of what we feel guilty of these days is culturally prescribed.

I think one can recognise as being 'innate' to humans when they tend to pop up in most or almost every culture. The taboo against killing one's parents or children, for instance, is one. The killing of spouses (sacrificial killing of wives when the husband dies) appears to be more culturally dependent.

[asitshouldbe]

Innate.