Jin Xin I · Passage 07 / 46 · 孟子 7A.7
Mencius 7A.7: if one feels no shame at
Mencius gives shame a central role: the danger is not merely being inferior for a time, but no longer feeling that inferiority as something needing correction.
孟子曰：「恥之於人大矣。為機變之巧者，無所用恥焉。不恥不若人，何若人有？」
Mencius said, 'The sense of shame is to a man of great importance. Those who form contrivances and versatile schemes distinguished for their artfulness, do not allow their sense of shame to come into action. When one differs from other men in not having this sense of shame, what will he have in common with them?'
Priority note
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Central question
Why does Mencius say that the sense of shame is of great importance?
Direct answer
Because shame is not decorative emotion. It is the power that returns a person from clever self-justification to real difference. Without it, there is little motive left for genuine improvement.
First principle
Growth requires allowing real standards to wound our complacency. Without shame, intelligence often becomes concealment rather than elevation.
Why it matters
This passage strongly serves searches around shame, moral psychology, and self-improvement in Mencius, while strengthening the site's link to the four beginnings.
Further reading
What this passage is doing
This is passage 7 of 46 in Jin Xin I. The cleanest entry point is "The sense of shame is to a man…". In context, it works as part of Mencius's argument about exhausting the heart, sincerity, and preserving the original heart and can be read alongside Human nature.
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Jin Xin I centers on exhausting the heart, sincerity, and preserving the capacities already given in the human heart.
Related principles
Citation note
Do not confuse shame with self-hatred. Mencius is speaking of sensitivity to real deficiency so that correction remains possible, not of dwelling in humiliation.