article

Honour and shame: some problems in the comparative analysis of moral systems

Man (N.S.)15Published In 1980 • Pages: 339-351

By: Herzfeld, Michael.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article, Herzfeld argues that the literature on Mediterranean value-systems with its focus on the concepts of honor and shame glosses over a wide variety of terms and understandings found in the region. He discusses the meanings of the Greek moral terms of EGOISMOS (self-regard) and FILOTIMO (honor). According to Herzfeld, EGOISMOS does not express a rugged individualism that supposedly lies behind the Greek national character--and Western character, for that matter. Rather, EGOISMOS is a means of gaining respect through performances that express and foreground socially sanctioned ideals. This article is a key to understanding Herzfeld's other work on Greek culture and his theory of social poetics, in general.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Social personality
Status, role, and prestige
Accumulation of wealth
Ethics
Community structure
Social control
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Greeks
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2003
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Europe
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Southeastern Europe
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Ian Skoggard ; 2002
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1973-1978
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1973-1978
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
'Glendi', Crete and 'Pefko', Rhodes, Greece
NotesAdditional notes
Michael Herzfeld
Includes bibliographical references (p. 350-351)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
sf 80000548
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Greece