Worldly Shame: Ethos in Action by Manu Samnotra

Abstract

Shameless behavior seems to be on the rise in political life—politicians lie, powerful companies cheat, and extremist groups flagrantly violate rules and norms without facing punishment. In Worldly Shame: Ethos in Action, Manu Samnotra offers a provocative solution to help transcend this shamelessness: shame itself. Samnotra develops a concept of “worldly shame,” where the feeling of shame generates “the awareness that we share and build upon a world with Others” (5). This worldliness is juxtaposed with worldlessness, the alluring belief that one's actions can determine outcomes with no input from others. By recognizing their dependence on others around them, worldly shame can compel people to act with and for others and cultivate political spaces that respect a plurality of voices. Samnotra develops this concept of shame by drawing on Hannah Arendt's writings, carefully parsing the complexities in Arendt's treatment of shame throughout her work. Chapter two elaborates on how shame contributes to worldliness through an analysis of Arendt's Rahel Varnhagen. Developing worldly shame, or “shame-proneness,” is not always so straightforward, as sometimes shame manifests as “shame-aversion,” which prevents worldliness by “sustaining a narcissistic illusion” (31). Samnotra identifies these two variants of shame in Rahel Varnhagen's life; the socialite felt shame from being Jewish and spent most of her life displaying shame-aversion as she tried to belong in exclusionary German social circles. Eventually, through self-reflection and participation in egalitarian salons, Rahel cultivated shame-proneness: she “awaken[ed] to the world” (35) and abandoned her attempts at assimilation. The thorough analysis of Rahel's journey demonstrates how these shames can coexist within individuals, although it is not clear how people cultivate shame-proneness from shame-aversion.