(no subject)

[adrienmundi]

What purpose does guilt serve? I don't quite understand it; from whence it comes, what it does, why it's around. And yet, it seems pretty universal, if in differing degrees. Even those who don't appear to feel it themselves know what it is, and how it works (at least in others). Someone vaguely important sounding once said, "Guilt is the only useless human emotion" (sorry, my referentiality is not such that I can name drop with ease; a gold star to anyone who cares to identify its source for me), but I'm not sure if I believe that one just yet, probably because I don't think I understand guilt well enough.

Comments

[scottopic.livejournal.com]

It's my belief that it does serve a purpose:
to motivate to change.
Like any other emotion, it is often misused, on others and on oneself.
When it simply becomes a lingering presence, that's when it's useless.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_amaranthe_/]

"Guilt is the only useless human emotion."

This quote is from Your Erroneous Zones by Dr. Wayne Dryer.

I'd like my gold star, please. :)

[sassysmile.livejournal.com]

You beat me to my answer...a good comparison is stress...good stress (or the right amount rather) motivates you to prepare or be ready for something by activating your adrenaline and making you aware...too much stress creates overkill and you become paralyzed...I think guilt gets a worse rap because it occurs post-activity or post-decision but it's just a tool and if we didn't place so much emphasis on singular activities and applied guilt as a tool to prevent negative patterns then we'd understand its utility much better.

Yes, we likes the run-on sentence...hope it made sense...

[skiadaimonos.livejournal.com]

That one is tricky.
Seems to be something that can be useful, but only when applied in a very careful way. As a byproduct of the understanding that something one did (or did not do) was problematic, it can be good. And hell, unpleasant as it is, we all need a little kick in the butt now and again. But in this, there are a number of possible "dangers." That one concentrates on the guilt too much, or feels so completely overwhelmed by it, that one spends one's time self-flaggelating, instead of just taking the clues and moving toward fixing whatever was off. That one gets so vexed by the guilty feelng that one becomes distant (or an outright asshole, though this is just mentioned for the sake of covering theoretical possibilities). That one takes the feeling of guilt to be enough "repay" and comes to valorize their regret and suffering (*grin* does this sort of thing remind you of anyone we know?).
All this of course has to involve the person who is the "object" of the guilty feeling. Some people (again, can you think of anyone? >:) ) seem to kinda thrive in making others feel like shit. But it would seem that in the case most probably referenced here, the point would be to both express negative feelings so that they are not suppressed and come back to bite whomever in the ass at a later time, and to begin to work through stuff so that whatever negative situations are improved, to the benefit of all involved.

Why all this huge ramble? Just take it as the expression of the hope that you will use the guilt instead of letting it use you. In the end, it's all good--we're all just trying to be as happy as possible no? And the good part: this can only be achieved when those we love are being made happy too.

*hugs*