From the author: Often in life we ​​take wishful thinking and endow the false with true qualities. For example, considering shame as a virtue, an important and necessary emotion in ontogenesis, we deliberately distort and neutralize its destructive essence, which destroys the integrity of the individual, and even endow it with characteristics that are unusual for it, supposedly forming self-awareness and having a positive effect on conscience. Is it really? Don’t be ashamed of yourself, don’t be and don’t hide your embarrassment. The peace of the soul will cover up any “flaw” and your virtues will appear. “No shame, no conscience” - we have often heard the phrase of accusation against people who behave unexpectedly or disproportionately to certain “norms”, for whom not always essentially ethics, but morality with elements of remnants, prejudices and patterns of perception. How much do we need shame and how does it agree with conscience? Are manifestations of shame so cloudless? To what extent is false modesty consistent with the true desires of the individual in acceptance, approval and the formation of sympathy? Shame is a basic emotion of a negative orientation, which, together with guilt, anger, resentment and fear, forms a whole symptom complex of incomplete value or self-worth. However, if the other above-mentioned emotions have a tangible negative connotation , shame is often seen as a virtue. And there are many reasons for this. Esoteric premises point to a wreath of 12 flower virtues decorating the Holy Grail: pure education, chastity, meekness, fidelity, moderation in everything, prudence, shame, modesty, perseverance, humility, patience and love. Exoteric opinions also viewed shame as a quality that encourages self-development: “A person must limit his behavior to the concept of shame.” “Feeling shame is akin to courage.” – Confucius. “Shame is the root of morality,” believed Vladimir Solovyov. Perhaps he interpreted the ancient expression in his own way: “scourged by shame, they are drawn to virtue.” In this article we will look at shame from various scientific points of view and positions, shedding light on the secret aspects of shame and what lies behind it. SHAME IN ETHICS, PSYCHOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHYEthics considers shame as one of the manifestations of a person’s moral self-awareness, as a moral feeling, where at one end of morality there is immorality, and at the other there is conscience and condemnation or self-condemnation of actions, motives and moral qualities. Psychology defines shame as negatively colored feeling; strong, painful emotion and experience, entailing dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction, which arise as a result of non-compliance with social requirements and/or expectations of other people. The manifestation of shame occurs through self-condemnation, self-blame and a person’s awareness of his own inconsistency with certain norms, standards and behavior patterns, as well as feelings its absurdity and even negligence. Practical psychology defines shame categorically, as existential, general, holistic, attributive. In philosophy, shame is a moral criterion of personality, a “supernatural status,” as V. Solovyov called it. The formation of shame occurs in childhood, and in mature years of life it is a destructive tool, an artificial substitute for the truly moral and ethical manifestations of a person. P.A. Florensky considered shame “the basis of chastity,” as if echoing the ancient mystical orders. In the works of many philosophers, shame was considered as a certain attribute of self-knowledge, which had its own, special meaning. “In a feeling of shame, I recognize that I am me, as others see me" - Sartre. “Shame leads to despair, and despair leads to shame, in a vicious circle.” – S. Kierkegaard. “It is shame that distinguishes man from animals. By being ashamed of natural needs, man demonstrates that he is not only a natural being. Shame reveals the difference between good and evil. In this case, it is not nature itself that is evil, but the subordination of the spirit to nature.” - V. Solovyov. One way or another, a distinction was made between the feeling of shame itself and its reduced copy -bashfulness, which hides the basic negative emotion of fear: “Shame is the displeasure that follows an act of which we are ashamed; modesty is fear or fear of shame, preventing a person from allowing anything shameful.” – B. Spinoza. SHAME AS AN ANTHESIS OF SHAMELESSNESS OR DEBATE I am ashamed of my movements Looks of reproach at the point-blank range As if a thousand doubts will shout in chorus: shame! I blush shamefully, As if I are a bubbling volcano, From under my eyebrows I look with apprehension Will anger pierce my body? Will arrows of accusations pierce “Won’t resin flow with indignation? Even all my thoughts are timid, as if I am small for myself... “Bashfulness is usually opposed to shamelessness, which in fact does not constitute passion; but the names show their usage of words more than their nature.” - B. Spinoza. Shamelessness often has a sexual connotation, forming a certain socially acceptable behavioral norm, which can be very conditional. This depends on the cultural-environmental, ethnic, religious and other traditions that “dictate” their “vision” and “understanding” of morality, chastity, modesty. In this context, it will be indicative to consider the etymology of shame from the point of view of Duetics. Shame in this case expresses an internal feeling and bodily reaction, manifested as: you are red-hot shy; you become extremely embarrassed and even burn to the ground. Does shame in this case form a moral and virtuous construct that has a positive effect on personal development? In modern conditions of sexual permissiveness and aggressive viral advertising, using the body as an attribute of influence on a person’s sexual impulses and his nature of desire is unlikely. On the contrary, it creates conditions in which double standards coexist, affecting the formation of an unstable psyche and blurred values. What could be the answer to cultural bacchanalia based on the above? - Acceptance of oneself as a being of light, hiding through bodily form and personal expression in the process of mastery life lessons and trials of fate. What does this mean? And the fact that any person’s experience is valuable and is not the subject of reproach, condemnation and censure, even if these actions come from close people and parents. Because appealing to shame or causing it is an unworthy activity, which is based on the thirst for power or the desire to control or manipulate a person, his behavior or the situation as a whole. Initially, there is no love in the feeling of shame. Shame not only blocks the manifestation of naturalness, but also forms an inferiority/flawedness complex. Also, in the absence of a common view on the nature of shame, as well as its necessity or harmfulness in a person’s life, false modesty is often formed, as a kind of inverted virtuous modesty. False or social modesty is nothing more than a behavioral stereotype formed by a person’s environment and his “standards”, preferences and “models” of relationships. In the tangle of hidden resentment there are always many threads, based on formed false modesty and shaming, which form incomplete value or lack of holistic perception yourself as a soul and personality, where feelings, emotions and bodily reactions are synchronized. At the same time, considering shame as a shield that protects against promiscuity and liberated sexual permissiveness is naive. The core of personality and its spiritual maturity is formed by other, more valuable qualities - love, self-respect, integrity, ethics of relationships with oneself and aesthetic perception of the world. CONSCIENCE AS A REGULATOR OF ETHICS OF RELATIONSHIPS “Know, people of the Clans of the Great Race, that the meaning of life and prosperity of your Clans rests on four ancient foundations, which are Faith, Conscience, Love and Will.” – Stribog In the etymology of the word shame there is another meaning, which is often considered in parallel - conscience: you touch conscience. How does shame resonate with conscience? Is a feeling of shame really necessary in the formation of conscience? A common expression: “and not ashamed”?!