Olivia Fisher
Philosophy of Emotion
November 17th, 2014
Summary: The Genesis of Shame

In The Genesis of Shame, the author, J. David Velleman, uses the story of Adam and Eve as a jumping off point for defining and expanding upon the idea of shame. Saint Augustine believed God, as punishment for disobeying His rules, gave the ability to feel ashamed to Adam and Eve, but Velleman proves this isn’t logical based on the continuity of the story told in Genesis. God is made aware by their digression upon finding Adam and Eve hiding their private parts in shame. This proves Velleman’s theory that shame wasn’t apropos of nothing, but rather a result of intelligence.

Velleman comes to the decision that shame is most naturally caused by “failures of privacy”. A “failure of privacy” occurs when someone accidentally reveals an aspect of his or her private behavior, such as exposing one’s genitals. This failure of privacy is considered a fault in the presentation of one’s public persona because the individual is aware that the other individuals who are present are consciously choosing to keep their genitals private and unexposed. Adam and Eve were ashamed of their nudity once they were given knowledge by partaking of the forbidden fruit. They were made aware of their sexual urges and this caused them to feel as though their genitals should be hidden from public view due to the urges the sight of them might create in the one another.