Sense of Honor and of Shame

Sense of Honor and of Shame

Honor is defined as the bond that is seen between the society and the individual, which means the quality of a person. The reputation of a person is based on the personal ethos and social teaching that is used to show the code of conduct of an individual. Some of the values that are associated with honor include compassion, honesty and these values have an impact on society. A sense of honor is said to lead to the growth of organizations, the community, and the individuals. The paper will discuss fame in the life of the individual. Some of the areas that will be addressed include honor and shame and loyalty to the good. Also, the essay will discuss honor in the aspects of the pledge of friendship, reputation, or fame as a model of immorality, honor due to self-esteem and pride and honor as an object of emulation, flattery, and happiness. Honor plays a significant role in the life of an individual, and the details will be discussed in the research paper..

Sense of Honor and of Shame

The actions of the individuals in their daily life activities are the ones that give a personal sense of honor and shame. Individuals make their choices on these two senses, and those that choose a sense of honor give their loyalty to doing the right thing. Individuals consider honor more than the shame and thin results in them, showing commitment to the good (Beech, 2018, 338-346). They will portray good behaviors of honesty and compassion so that they can be considered honorable by others in the community. Individuals try with all means to avoid a sense of shame by getting involved in doing good deeds. Most of the people in society do not like to be involved with a sense of guilt, and therefore they try so hard to show honesty and integrity. A sense of honor has built the personality of individuals who then contribute to the growth of the society. A sense of honor has promoted the individual dignity in which the individuals have focused on doing the right thing. For instance, a leader who is controlled by a sense of honor will concentrate on doing dignified actions to the community. The personal sense of honor benefits the community who depends on the individual. Individuals get to avoid the feeling of shame in their lives, and they focus on doing the right thing (Mohammed, 2018). The evil actions such as theft and corruption that are associated with a sense of shame are reduced. The leaders perform based on loyalty for good and therefore ensure that there is an enhanced sense of honor and dignity for the population. A sense of honor to the individual also contributes to improved interactions with others in the community, therefore the promotion of growth for the individual and the community. Based on this statement, individuals avoid shame in their lives, and in the fight for the honor, they do the right thing.

Honor as an object of desire and as a factor in virtue and happiness

Honor is achieved because of the desire of a person to be viewed as honorable by the community. Honor being an object of desire, makes the individuals emulate others in the community who are honorable. For example, the young generation gets to imitate others in the community who are considered honorable. The children get to emulate their honorable parents through their desire to become honorable too. Honor is a desire of an individual to be treated with respect by the community, and the desire plays a role in motivating the individuals (Hallberg, 2015). The individuals are motivated to conduct themselves with honor, and this plays a role in promoting the personal growth of the individuals. Examples in when young people work hard in schools so that they can emulate other leaders like the presidents in society. These young people work hard in their school work so that they can achieve their goal of becoming honorable (Dundes, 2009, 135-139). When they work hard, they are guided by characters of determination and commitment in their work and hence resulting in personal growth. However, there are individuals who emulate bad people who are considered honorable by society, but their actions are against the ethics of the community. There have been cases of conformity to behavior in the desire to gain honor from the community, and this has resulted in negative effects on the lives of the individuals.

Based on virtue and happiness, honor plays a significant role in ensuring happy lives for individuals. Virtue is defined as the behavior portraying moral standards, and honor has contributed to that. As mentioned earlier, it through the desire to become honorable that the individuals end up showing good moral behaviors in their daily activities. In the desire to become honorable, the individuals practice honesty in their life and other righteous behaviors and therefore perceived as honorable by the community (Nietzsche, 2003). Honor also contributes to the happiness of the individual since they get to do what they desire in life. The desire to become honorable has made a huge number of populations achieve life goals and therefore enhancing happiness. Desire to becoming honorable becomes a contributing factor to enhancing moral actions and happiness.

Honor Due to Self Esteem

The honor due to self-esteem is the phrase that shows that individuals’ self-value makes them get involved in actions that will gain honor. Self-esteem is also profoundly related to honor and mostly in when an individual adheres to honor codes. Individuals with high self-esteem will do things that will improve their honor, and these things as morally related. There are things that are done to maintain self-esteem, and in this pursuit, the reputation of the individual is built. An example is the issue of chastity that creates recognition of the individuals when they abstain from immoral behaviors until their marriage. Abstinence makes the individuals have self-esteem, and it helps in avoiding until marriage (Zeigler-Hill, 2017, 60-91). One focuses on becoming dignified and showing loyalty to the partner because of the issue of self-esteem. The individuals will be treated with respect by the community, and it is due to self-esteem that honor is gained by persons. The self-value of the individuals making them carry themselves with dignity, and this gives them honor. An example presented shows how young people focus on their self-value, and they protect their bodies hence becoming honorable. Because of self-esteem, young people will not get involved in actions like drinking and taking drugs. Consumption of alcohol and drugs make people unconscious, and they end up getting involved in sexual behaviors. Some may get illnesses and other unwanted pregnancies. Pregnancy, for example exposes individuals to shame, especially if the individual is not married, and based on this, the individuals avoid these behaviors to ensure that they are honored by the community. Self-value prevents these behaviors and hence resulting in the promotion of honor for the individuals. Self-esteem dictates the application of values that will enhance some individuals in society. In the pursuit of feeling proud of one’s achievements, the individuals become honorable people who contribute to the growth of society and the country (Novin, 2015, 161-163). Individuals who have high self-esteem are said to be generous to the community as they focus on making sure that others grow. In their charity activities, they create honor in the community and hence the relationship between honor and self-esteem. People seeking honor gain self-esteem, and they gain abilities to face life dangers hence improving their lives. For instance, there are individuals in society who have devoted their lives to helping the vulnerable in the communities. Through their charity activities of helping the vulnerable population grow, they build their honor. These individuals become respected, and they also make their lives. The desire for honor form the community has promoted the growth of self-esteem among many individuals, and this has contributed to the achievement of one’s goals.

Honor or fame as a mode of immortality

Recognition or fame has also played a significant role in the increase of immorality among individuals and to the community. According to the studies conducted in China and Germany, as presented by the New York Times, there is a thirty percent dream of becoming famous. These individuals think that one can only make in life if they become famous (Carey, 2006). This urge increases the motive to become immoral to become famous. Most of the individuals who have fame in society are the ones who get involved in unethical behaviors. One of the arguments is that some people think that getting involved in corrupt activities will give them fame. The action of desire for fame makes some students become bullies in school and later in their life become criminals. These individuals have a psychological issue in that they think that by getting involved in criminal behaviors, they end up getting known to the surrounding communities. For instance, the individuals in the immoral action drug trafficking appear in the news on the televisions and other social media. According to them, they feel honored for that, and they feel that they have fame in the community. Some of these individuals think that gaining wealth is the way to fame, and they get involved in criminal activities to earn money. Naturally, society treats the wealthy personnel with honor. Psychologically, it has been proven that the urge to become wealthy and get treated with honor results in the immorality of the individuals in the community (Carey, 2006). Drug trafficking is one of the primary immoral activities that has made individuals very rich and hence helping them to gain honor. Immorality is also increased among the politicians who have become corrupt in their offices. Most of the world leaders have become corrupt to acquire wealth that will make them gain honor from the communities and, therefore, the relationship between honor and immorality. A psychologist known as Orville Gilbert says that fame is the primary motive that causes most of the individuals in the community to get involved in immoral behaviors. Many politicians also look forward to luring the citizens and gain more fame, and this motivates them to become more corrupt. An image from the New York Times shows how fame makes young people crowd around a car to a woman who is popular in the community. The individuals who would want the crowding to continue in their lifetime get to activities that make sure that the scenarios occur (Kumar et al., 2016. 147-159). A leader whose term gets to an end will use force to remain in power so that he or he can remain honorable to the community, and the use of force is immoral. Based on the information provided, the need to become famous or honorable has played a significant role in increasing society’s immorality.

Honor as the pledge of friendship: the codes of honor among social equals

Honor and friendship is the other aspect discussed in the issue of honor in the life of an individual. Every individual in society requires feeling a sense of belonging from others in the community and, therefore, the need for friendship (Lockwood, 2019, 409-426). Based on this argument, the code of honor requires the members of the community to treat each other with equality. No one should feel superior or inferior compared to the other. Social equality enhances togetherness in society and reduces the rate of discrimination. Code of honor reduces social prejudices based on religion, gender, sex, and race and therefore strengthens unity in the community. Friendship is promoted since people get to live as one helping each other. Honor reduces the issues of conflicts in the community and conflicts among individuals, and therefore it can be used as a pledge of friendship. The leaders and the subordinates work as friends since no one feels discriminated against by the other in society (Nietzsche 2003). Honor has led to the personal growth of the community since the individuals help each other without discrimination. Cultural diversity, which is the key factor to economic growth, has been enhanced by the fact the people live according to codes of honor that promote social justice. The pledge of friendship also between the police and the society is promoted since the police officers adhere to the codes of honor. Members of the community should live as one and help each other in solving the issues affecting the community to enhance growth.

In conclusion, codes of honor play an essential role in building the life of an individual and the entire community. Based on the examples presented in the paper, honor helps in enhancing friendship that contributes to the personal growth of the individual. Also, it is through honor that the life of an individual is shaped through the enhancement of the self-esteem of the individuals. People seek honor to improve their self-esteem and make them better individuals in the community. The other effect of honor on a person’s life, as mentioned by the research paper, is that it helps individuals to behave morally and live a happy life. Moral life keeps individuals from trouble, and this makes them live a happy life. It is through honor that the life of an individual is molded in that they are focused on doing the right thing reducing immoral cases in the community. The paper has, however, discussed the negative impact of fame in that it has resulted in cases of immorality. The paper has mentioned how leaders have involved themselves in immorality cases like corruption to remain honorable in the community. The individuals should, therefore, seek honor as a way of making their lives better.