A Philosophy of Shame: A Revolutionary Emotion

by Frédéric Gros, Andrew James Bliss (translator)

An original reflection on shame as the central feeling of our age, the expression of an anger that is the necessary condition for new struggles, from the author of the popular Philosophy of Walking

Can shame become a source of political strength? Faced with injustice, growing inequality and systemic violence, we cry out in shame. We feel ashamed of the world, of wealth in the face of those who have nothing, of the fortune of a few tycoons when it becomes indecent. We feel ashamed for a planet that humanity exploits without restraint, for sexist and racist behaviour. It is not just sadness and withdrawal into oneself, nor is it a paralyzing sense of inadequacy.

The feeling analyzed in this book arises when our gaze on reality renounces passivity and resignation, and instead makes imagination its critical shame thus becomes the expression of an anger that is power, transformative energy, and assumes to all intents and purposes– as in the reading of Marx, recovered here–a radical value.

In a constant dialogue with authors such as Primo Levi and Annie Ernaux, Virginie Despentes and James Baldwin, Frédéric Gros explores a concept that is still little understood in its depth and in its articulations– anthropological and moral, psychological and political. Shame is a revolutionary sentiment because it lies at the foundation of any path of subjective recognition, transformation, and struggle.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Politics, Essays

176 pages, Hardcover

Published June 10, 2025

About the author

Frédéric Gros, né le 30 novembre 1965 à Saint-Cyr-l’École est un philosophe français, spécialiste de Michel Foucault. Il est professeur de pensée politique à l'Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po)

Reviews

[Sarah (menace mode) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Shame ought to be the price to pay - the minimum in union dues that they should be expected to cough up - for the person born into privilege whose history is marked by slavery, genocides, colonial empires, discrimination against women and the exploitation of the most vulnerable. You can be sure the vulnerable and dominated will have paid a more exorbitant price.” Banger.

[Nash Δ. · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the book’s most compelling sections is its historical lens, where Gros traces how shame has evolved from ancient notions of honor and disgrace to its modern forms, shaped by the gaze of others, surveillance, and, now, the omnipresence of social media. He argues that in today’s hyperconnected world, shame has become a public spectacle, often weaponized to enforce conformity or ostracize dissent. This sociological perspective is both timely and unnerving, likely resonating with readers living in a culture of constant exposure.

At its core, the book is not just a critique of societal trends. Gros delves into the existential dimensions of shame, portraying it as a uniquely human experience that reveals our vulnerability and interconnectedness. He discusses how shame can lead to a deeper self-awareness, painful but potentially transformative. Gros is careful not to romanticize this, acknowledging the destructive potential of shame as well. He also explores how moments of shame can prompt empathy, growth, and the pursuit of authenticity.

Gros’ prose is accessible, balancing philosophical rigor with an ability to draw the reader into his arguments. His use of literature, art, and personal anecdotes adds richness and texture, ensuring that the book appeals not only to academic audiences but to anyone seeking to better understand the role of shame in their own lives.

One of the book’s few shortcomings is its tendency to generalize societal phenomena, particularly in its discussions of shame’s manifestations in different cultural contexts.

Despite this minor critique, the book is a significant contribution to the study of human emotions and the ways they intersect with philosophy and culture. It challenges readers to confront their own experiences of shame and consider its broader implications in a world that often seeks to avoid discomfort.A recommended read for those interested in philosophy, psychology, and the human condition.

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all]]

Ah an emotion I am quite familiar with! Perhaps I should learn more about my close companion! Besties!

[Miles Xavier · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this book was perfectly fine. Different iterations of shame are explored in various situations, and the book becomes a series of quite interesting exercises in following Gros around and exploring the historical precedence and current phenomena of shame. Gros is quite cerebral in an unpretentious way, which makes the book quite easy and fun to read.

But otherwise… I kinda just go “hmmmm… yes…” and move on without much of anything. Some books just rip through you and are so inexplicably dense that you can just obliterate yourself with each page turn. Others are so illuminating and illustrative that you can’t help but think “thank you for reterritorializing this thing that’s existed in my mind that I thought I was insane for thinking of.” This book just kinda makes me wanna give two thumbs up and then move on about my day. Dare I say a great book to read either at home or on public transit? I shamelessly do.

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I typed a looooong review for this book and was very happy with it and as I went to post it, it all deleted except or like the first 3 lines..... PISSED is an understatement)

Read for book club and I had a great time with this book! I really enjoyed the very VERY detailed observations of shame, what it means, and how philosophers and thinkers of the past and present understand it. Shame is so damnnnn complex yet so understudied and underappreciated. It was great to learn about the philosophers and thinkers of the past and present who wrote about shame.

(This part is going to be summarized in like 2 lines. I realize they are very large claims out of context, but I cannot be bothered to rewrite like 2 paragraphs from scratch, so I'm just writing as little as possible that will let future me vaguely remember what I mean)
-My main problem is that this is a history of philosophy, not a philosophy
-The book promises to demonstrate how shame can turn into political action, but only the last 5 pages do this
-The whole book teaches about shame from other philosophers, and connects them to grounded examples to demonstrate their validity and limitations, but Gros's original philosophy at the end doesn't do this despite the book promising that this was the point of the book.
-This book would be 5 stars easily if it was called "A History of Shame..." and not "A Philosophy of Shame..."

Great book and would recommend,. Just shift your expectations a little (as per my previous bullet points) and it'll be a blast!

[Griffin Lamb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was hoping for a more sustained treatment of the systemic, intersectional dimensions of shame, but good bits throughout. Especially enjoyed Gros’s engagement with Sartre, Ernaux, and Baldwin.

[Maria]

Gros covers topics of shame as it relates to family, honor, rape, incest, poverty, racism, and revolution. He writes about shame as a shared human experience, and the ways in which shame can either hinder us or be utilized for self evolution and betterment of society: "Shame is a painful fluctuation between sadness and anger that can have two outcomes: It can lead us down a cold and dark path that disfigures us and ends in solitary resignation, or a fiery and luminous path that transfigures us and fuels collective anger."

Although I enjoyed this book enough to finish it, I was left feeling like it was incomplete-ish. I wanted a book that would provide me with revelations or give profound insights, but oftentimes I felt that only the obvious was stated. For a short book, I found some redundancies -- I often felt like I had read similar passages and even exact sentences a few pages back. I also felt that the book was completely missing a conclusion. I think I would have been left with a better impression of the book overall if Gros had a closing chapter that synthesized the book.

[Thomas Gallagher Romero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me pasa con este libro algo parecido a lo que me ocurre con Slavoj Zizek y que creo que es un defecto común a gran parte del panorama del marxismo académico actual, especialmente entre aquellos autores que beben de Lacan. Son fantásticos describiendo, etiquetando y caracterizando síntomas pero este proceso es siempre una ilusión. La primera impresión leyendo a estos autores es muy satisfactoria porque siempre parecen haber diseñado un nuevo esquema que explica de forma novedosa algún fenómeno social o afecto. A veces hasta parece que estás leyendo una publicación de Linkedin o una respuesta de Chat-GPT. Todo está clarito, numerado y correctamente definido. Sin embargo, cuando estos esquemas se trasladan a fuera de si mismos, todo se desmorona.

El psicoanálisis aplicado a la estética puede dejarte detalles interesantes, análisis artísticos novedosos o conceptos útiles (como el concepto de síntoma) pero al final siempre se tropieza consigo mismo. Está genial si se trata de un esloveno excéntrico contando un viejo chiste de la Unión Soviética para explicar la trama de La Naranja Mecánica pero en cuanto intentas utilizarlo para algo tan complejo como hacer un desarrollo histórico del concepto de la vergüenza e intentas vincularlo con los esfuerzos revolucionarios del presente te termina saliendo un libro más bien flojo.

Sí, creo que el libro tiene detalles provechosos. Me gusta la normalización de una serie de afectos asociados a la vergüenza que hace y su tesis principal, aunque grandilocuente y bastante mal formulada, es bastante interesante: hay que abrazar la vergüenza como un afecto que puede resultar hasta revolucionario.

Lo contrario a tener vergüenza es ser un sinvergüenza, así que supongo que no estará tan mal.

[Emīls Ozoliņš · Rating 4 out of 5]

The biggest benefit to these sorts of books is that they compel you to think about how they reflect in your own life. It is precisely for that reason I read this and A Philosophy of Lying, because they are such intricate, yet prescient parts of the human condition. Why do we lie? Why do we feel shameful? Both of these are questions worth examining.

Overall, this is a good book, offering both a historical and a literary lens to shame and its various types. I enjoyed some sections more than others (in particular, the deep dive and tangents relating shame and sexual assault were not as enjoyable, though they were valuable reading even simply for the fact that it re-raised such important matters that do genuinely unfortunately happen to people on this blimey earth), but I’m regardless glad to have read it all.

And parts of this will reflect in my life going forward, and that’s kind of all you can ask of a book, really.

[Christian Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh, a feeling I know too well. Gros really dives into all the layers of shame and how it’s shaped by society, by others, and by ourselves. It’s one of those reads that makes you pause and sit with the parts of yourself you usually try to look away from.

One line that stayed with me: “We spend an entire lifetime asking ourselves how we should live, talk, love, and die. We are forever striving to make the grade, but in relation to what and to whom? Nobody has the faintest idea.”

It’s unsettling but honest. Shame isn’t something we just carry, it’s something that keeps reshaping us in quiet ways.

[Grace Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone is really dropping the ball down at Verso’s quality control department. If I’m being generous, this is a timely introductory lit review about an affect (shame) that has often been sidelined for its more glamorous cousin: guilt.

Given the author’s background, francophone authors feature heavily, alongside quick detours through Plato, Freud, Kafka, Primo Levi, and James Baldwin. The author explores various typologies of shame (narcissistic shame, shame at the state of humanity, shaming the weak and inferior) before arriving at the rather unsatisfying mathematical conclusion that something like shame + anger = revolution (?). Shame becomes akin to something like thymos.

Although Gros necessarily touches on Sartre’s famous thesis that shame is always constituted through the eyes of the other (I never feel ashamed of myself when I’m alone), he missed an opportunity to discuss the flip side of the coin. Unlike guilt, which is always personal, we often feel shame precisely because someone else refuses to feel it for themselves. I feel ashamed on behalf of someone who is shameless. And how do we make sense of shame in modernity when questions of crime punishment have moved away from the family unit and are delegated instead the state? The constitutive sociality of shame is what makes it so philosophically fruitful, and is precisely why Kafka astutely observed that shame is something which can outlive us as individuals. It seems to be these more interesting questions were ignored.

This little book also has something of the “gen X Frenchman discovering identity politics for the first time” about it.

[Matthew Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

He's a little bit all over the place, and he doesn't give enough attention to revolutionary shame, but it's a great read overall. As a little bit of an idiot when it comes to philosophy, I appreciate that this book is jam-packed with examples that make his point clear, but even after a certain point it was kind of like okay guy, we get it. But I really did enjoy it.

[Anna Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I'm going to need to re-read this soon to really sink it in. I really enjoyed it.

[Kristofer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the way the writer provided a bigger picture and expanded points to relate to other philosophical and political ideologies. I will say this is one of them big word books

[Fedde Wiersma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is too short and lacks sufficient depth to deserve a five-star rating. Nevertheless, it raises interesting questions about the concept of “shame” from multiple perspectives. Therefore, I give it a well-deserved four-star rating.

[Doug Dahl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting historical account of the evolution of shame as a motivating force for behavior and its relationship to guilt. The book didn’t really explain a lot of its claims, though. In particular it claimed that shame was objective, then dedicated significant time to discussing how shame is an internal (ie. Subjective) process

[Addison Burns · Rating 1 out of 5]

incredibly disappointing.

[Peter Hillen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Gros was a student and editor for Michel Foucault, his writing is significantly more accessible. I also appreciated that when he referenced a historian or another philosopher, he often included block quotations which provided readers like myself (without a background in philosophy) with the necessary context to follow the author's case.

The thesis of this book is that shame has both positive and negative manifestations in our lives, and we must choose how to relate to it. Overwhelmingly, the negative manifestations relate to silence and a sense of impotence. The positive manifestations result most often from imagination and indignation. "Shame is a painful fluctuation between sadness and anger that can have two outcomes: It can lead us down a dark path that disfigures us and ends in solitary resignation, or a fiery luminous path that transfigures us and fuels collective anger," Gros writes.

I found one other quote to be aspirational, though I am still trying to understand how it relates to shame: "Prove to me that your knowledge is more than mere rote learning, your convictions more than the accumulated silt deposited by your family and friends, your judgement more than a reflex reaction-prove to me that they are deeply ingrained in your soul..."

[Sara Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good - thematically kind of all over the place, hard to really pin point the “thesis” of the book until the very end. It would seem that the mission of the book is to explore historical and psychological nuances of shame - to arrive at the conclusion that we should collectively harness our shame with anger through class struggle. There is a lot of different perspectives given: Marx quotes, Freud, Hannah Arendt, Baldwin. Hard to nail down exactly the precise political persuasion of the author, if there even is one. Enjoyed the book, thought it had some great points, kind of ideologically a mess though! Great cover art B-

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly great read! The translation gets a bit clunky at times, but I truly didn't imagine how integrated shame was in our society and how we utilize it until I read this book. It offers a lot to think about with great prose. We don't really consider shame and how it impacts us but I think this book does a great job covering the subject. I was really shocked at how much I enjoyed this read!

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very compact and succinct delving into shame. From the characteristics of shame, its realizations in the individual and in the collective, to the mechanisms that allow to shift shame and own the underlying feeling: the book explores, with several examples, how shame expresses itself, giving room to the reader to learn about the subtleties and how to vindicate them, either shamefully or shamelessly.

[Andrew Krause · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt rather disjointed, though that may partially be due to not sharing the same background in French culture (most of the literary references were lost on me). Having sections on psychoanalysis also did nothing for me. I liked the historical overview, and the talk about shame as a kind of social glue for Confucius and Plato, but not much else

[Carl Stadtler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, and I think it is a fairly effective introduction to a broad spectrum of topics related to shame. That said, its brevity holds it back from being excellent, and the relatively large number of topics makes me struggle to really pin down a thesis statement

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A curious read.

At times pretentious and opaque. At others provocative and insightful.

The history of shame, its evolution over the millennia, as elucidated by sources from Socrates to Confucius and Baldwin to Primo Levi.

[D.J. Lang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book as a joke gift (so my daughter best not reveal that anything about it if she reads this review). It started with a discussion on shame back in October. I saw this book while Christmas shopping and thought "Perfect!" I decided to read it before gifting it. Drat! I think perhaps I might have to concede a few points with the person with whom I was discussing shame.

Gros is quite philosophical (the title gives that away) so sometimes while reading I felt quite intelligent and at other times quite clueless. I did get quite a few of the literary references (yay for a professor who had his students read Balzac). A trigger warning will come in handy. As Gros discusses aspects of shame, he also describes why certain actions are shameful, and if I was cringing and emotional, I can imagine the reactions of someone who has lived through incest, molestation, rape.

I almost want the book on my shelves...but, I think once was enough. I'm thinking of looking for
...well, who knows what I was thinking of looking for -- Goodreads site was being glitchy when I wrote this and I'm lucky it saved at least 2 paragraphs. All the rest of my reviews that day didn't get saved.

[Mary Lawrence]

incredible

[Kiera Kaba · Rating 4 out of 5]

He mentioned Balzac four times, but what else can be expected of a French philosophy book?

[Griffin E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Some of the ideas in the middle lost me, but overall I enjoyed it.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really what I wanted but I’m glad shame is back on the menu.

[Bobbi Adair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annotated the shiii out of this. Can’t wait to re-read this