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From: rlr@pyuxn.UUCP (Rich Rosen)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Guilt - (nf)
Message-ID: <446@pyuxn.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 6-Feb-84 17:12:25 EST
Article-I.D.: pyuxn.446
Posted: Mon Feb  6 17:12:25 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 9-Feb-84 09:07:05 EST
References: <2439@fortune.UUCP>
Organization: Central Services Org., Piscataway N.J.
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This assumes that the reason one feels guilt over something is that it IS
wrong, rather than simply FEELING that it is wrong.  The difference is very
important.  Religions, parents, teachers, etc., have the power to indoctrinate
people into believing that things are wrong.  Thus the wrongness may not be
with the action, but with the guilt itself.  If someone has done a truly
wrong action, chances are that they won't feel guilt.  More likely, they'll
feel fear at the possibility of getting caught, which is probably the root
of more of what we call 'guilt' in Western society than we realize.  If
religions/philosophers/whatever lead us to behave in certain ways out of
fear and guilt instead of out of rationality, then we are nothing but a
race of infants from an emotional and social perspective.
-- 
Pardon me for breathing...
	Rich Rosen    pyuxn!rlr