DEZVOLTAREA NOȚIUNII DE CONȘTIINȚĂ MORALĂ ÎN LUMEA PRECREȘTINĂ
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONCEPT OF MORAL CONSCIENCE IN THE PRE-CHRISTIAN WORLD

Summary/Abstract: The development of the concept of moral conscience in the pre-Christian world. The difference between shame and guilt has been explained by the fact that the ashamed person thinks about what kind of person he is, usually in relation to the imagined contempt of others for his shortcomings, but sometimes, it is realized in relation to his own self-image. Deficiencies also include non-moral ones, such as poverty. The person who feels guilt, by contrast, usually thinks more narrowly about a victim and justified reproach. This explanation in terms of the victim omits the idea of violating the demands of an authority, such as God. But another source of guilt can also be the thought of violating the demands of an accepted authority, such as the divine, and of disapproval of that authority, whether or not there is a victim. If the Greeks did not distinguish between guilt and shame, the situations that provoke shame in Greek portrayals, in some cases, also provoke attitudes that we distinguish as guilt, even if the Greeks and Romans did not make the distinction. The primary history of these aspects that we now regard as expressions of moral conscience will be discussed in this study.

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