Over 600,000 households in the Netherlands are facing financial difficulties due to debt, which often causes feelings of shame and leads to avoiding creditors. This study looked at ways to help a...Show moreOver 600,000 households in the Netherlands are facing financial difficulties due to debt, which often causes feelings of shame and leads to avoiding creditors. This study looked at ways to help a debtor contact their respective creditor. The researchers wanted to see if increasing debtors’ resilience to shame would make them more willing to contact their creditors. Therefore, first of all, was hypothesized that increasing individuals’ sense of power and decreasing feelings of being trapped will result in a higher willingness to contact a creditor compared to the baseline condition. Additionally, there was hypothesized that the combined intervention condition, incorporating both enhanced power and reduced feelings of being trapped, would be more effective than either intervention alone. Finally, age was explored as a potential factor within the relationship between shame resilience and willingness. The researchers tested this by assigning participants (n = 267) randomly to one of four groups: baseline, power, feeling trapped, or a combined intervention. In each condition, participants received a tailored creditor email designed to elicit feelings of increased power, reduced feelings of being trapped, or a combination of both. In contrast, the baseline condition involved a standard creditor email. Subsequently, participants were asked to indicate their willingness to initiate contact with the creditor agency. The results showed that increasing people's sense of power and reducing feelings of being trapped led to a greater willingness to contact creditors compared to the baseline group. However, the combined intervention did not have a greater effect than the separate interventions. Overall, the findings suggest that increasing people's sense of power and reducing feelings of being trapped can enhance their resilience to shame and increase their willingness to contact creditors to address financial issues.Show less
This thesis aims to explore attitudes towards nudity and nakedness in medieval art and literature by discussing key historical, religious and socio-political contexts surrounding the body and...Show moreThis thesis aims to explore attitudes towards nudity and nakedness in medieval art and literature by discussing key historical, religious and socio-political contexts surrounding the body and embodiment. By undressing the medieval understanding and approaches to the exposed body, I will present how nudity was received both publicly and privately, and evaluate whether cultural attitudes towards nakedness reflect or challenge contemporary notions of nakedness. Therefore, this research should contribute to a wider historical narrative of the relationship between the naked body and its material environment in both the medieval and modern period.Show less
This thesis entails a dialogue between Foucauldian- and Confucian philosophy. Although at first sight rather different, these two thinkers both share a concern for human conduct and its origins. By...Show moreThis thesis entails a dialogue between Foucauldian- and Confucian philosophy. Although at first sight rather different, these two thinkers both share a concern for human conduct and its origins. By means of discipline and etiquette, human behavior is sculpted and influenced; this thesis argues for a world in which we pay attention to Confucian etiquette and Foucauldian discipline to better understand our own social behavior, and that of others. This thesis aims at providing a place for both these phenomena and its advocates to interlock.Show less
This thesis seeks to examine the notions of shame and guilt in the literary expression of these concepts in Endo Shusaku’s novel, Scandal (1986). With an emphasis on analyzing shame and guilt in...Show moreThis thesis seeks to examine the notions of shame and guilt in the literary expression of these concepts in Endo Shusaku’s novel, Scandal (1986). With an emphasis on analyzing shame and guilt in this fiction as key elements in the characters’ psychological struggle, the thesis aims to determine how their interweaving reveals Endo’s personal sense of identity in the context of post-war Japan. The thesis argues that, through his literary accounts, Endo has contributed to enriching this intellectual exploration of these two notions. Based on a detailed scrutiny of Scandal, the thesis also briefly reflects on previous theoretical paradigms of shame and guilt to point out Endo’s position within the diverse flow of defining these concepts.Show less
In this study the relation between virtualization and shamelessness is examined by investigating the banking crisis of 2008. Shame, it is held, is crucial to our self-development and our relation...Show moreIn this study the relation between virtualization and shamelessness is examined by investigating the banking crisis of 2008. Shame, it is held, is crucial to our self-development and our relation with others because, besides the negative self-evaluation it is commonly known for, shame also encompasses a strong personal involvement. After investigating the financial crisis of 2008 it is found that the financial sector is characterized by the convergence of a high reliance on virtual systems as well as an inability to feel shame. To further study the effect of virtualization on shame, three necessary conditions for shame are proposed based on the work of Kierkegaard, Merleau-Ponty, and Sartre: integrity, embodiment, and responsibility. By examining the effect of virtualization on these three necessary conditions I arrive at a general conclusion about the effect of virtualization on our ability to feel shame. The final section expands the scope of these findings to see whether the found effect of virtualization on shame can be noticed in other social spheres that are gradually becoming more virtual.Show less
