On the Sociality and Transformation of the Emotion of Shame

Abstract

Emotions have been viewed and envisioned as a subject to be avoid- ed due to their irrelevance and incompatibility with sociology's objec- tive pursuits as a science. This perspective is prevalent, especially when sociology is conceived as a field of scientific knowledge that investigates objective social facts. The first sociologists, who conceived sociology as a field of objective scientific knowledge, also maintained and held this attitude. However, Norbert Elias was the first to pioneer the considera- tion of emotions as a sociological research subject. Accordingly, he ex- plored various social dimensions of the emotion of shame.