The climate crisis is an enormous challenge for contemporary societies. Yet, public discussions on it often lead to anger, mocking, denial and other defensive behaviours, one prominent example of which is the reception met by the climate advocate Greta Thunberg. The paper approaches this curious phenomenon via shame. It argues that the very idea of anthropogenic climate change invites feelings of human failure and thereby may also entice shame. The notion of “climate shame” is introduced and distinguished from “climate guilt”. Whereas climate guilt prioritises the flourishing of the environment and is focused on actions and morality, climate shame is concerned with human identity and selfhood. The paper then explores whether shame is a morally destructive or constructive emotion. Making use of both psychological and philosophical literature on shame, it argues that although shame faces many challenges that question its usefulness in moral pedagogy, these challenges can be met with “moral maturity”—moreover, following a utilitarian approach, the overall benefits of climate shame can justify its costs to individuals. My argument is that climate shame holds the potential of being a highly effective moral psychological method of persuasion, capable of inviting wholesale critical reflection on current, environmentally damaging practices and cultivation of more virtuous ways of co-existing with the rest of the natural world and other species.

气候危机对当代社会是巨大的挑战。然而，关于它的公开讨论经常导致愤怒，嘲笑，否认和其他防御行为，其中一个突出的例子就是气候倡导者格蕾塔·滕伯格的接待。本文通过羞耻处理了这种奇怪的现象。它认为，人为气候变化这一观念引起了人们的失败感，因此也可能引来耻辱。介绍了“气候羞耻”的概念，并将其与“气候罪恶感”区分开。气候罪恶感是环境繁荣的优先考虑因素，并且注重行动和道德，而气候耻辱则关系到人类的身份和自我。然后，论文探讨了羞耻感是一种道德上的破坏性情感还是建设性的情感。它利用了关于羞耻的心理学和哲学文献，认为尽管羞耻面临着许多质疑其在道德教育学上的用处的挑战，但这些挑战可以通过“道德成熟”来解决-而且，按照功利主​​义的方法，气候的整体利益羞耻可以证明个人付出的代价。我的论点是，羞耻感有可能成为一种有效的说服力的道德心理方法，能够引起对当前对环境造成破坏的做法的批判性反思，并培育出与自然界其他国家和地区共存的更多良性方式。其他物种。遵循功利主义方法，气候耻辱的整体利益可以证明其对个人造成的损失是合理的。我的论点是，羞耻感有可能成为一种有效的说服力的道德心理方法，能够引起对当前对环境造成破坏的做法的批判性反思，并培育出与自然界其他国家和地区共存的更多良性方式。其他物种。遵循功利主义方法，气候耻辱的整体利益可以证明其对个人造成的损失是合理的。我的论点是，羞耻感有可能成为一种有效的说服力的道德心理方法，能够引起对当前对环境造成破坏的做法的批判性反思，并培育出与自然界其他国家和地区共存的更多良性方式。其他物种。