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Two Faces of Guilt - Study Based on Conscience Anxiety of Freud and Hiri·Ottappa of Buddhism -

  • 불교학리뷰
  • Abbr : Critical Review for Buddhist Studies
  • 2022, (32), pp.33-59
  • Publisher : Geumgang Center for Buddhist Studies
  • Research Area : Humanities > Buddhist Studies
  • Received : August 30, 2022
  • Accepted : September 28, 2022
  • Published : October 30, 2022

CHUNG-HYEON LEE 1

1동국대학교 동서사상연구소

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study examines guilt, a core emotion that every human has, through constrasting Freudian psychoanalysis and Buddhism. According to Freud, guilt is a variant of anxiety, equated to ‘conscience anxiety’, which he also describes as a tension between the superego and the ego. He points out that excessive conscience anxiety can lead to neurosis and therefore guilt is a serious threat to human civilization. On the other hand, in Buddhism, there is no concept of emotion that completely coincides with the concept of guilt. However, within Buddhism there are mental factors(cetasika) of ‘Hiri’ and ‘Ottappa’, which reflect and describe fear of sin respectively. This Buddhist feeling of guilt is an ethical emotion that always coexists within a good mind, and furthermore, it is a spiritual emotion that serves the ultimate goal of Buddhism, nirvana. This study analyzes the three reasons for their different perspectives on guilt: one is pathological, and the other is not only ethical but also spiritual. First, they present different ideals or models that are reflected in the development of guilt. Second, they assume that the area of consciousness where guilt mainly functions is different. Finally, their different understandings of the nature of the human mind lead to fundamental differences in views on guilt.

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