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Why do humans feel guilty when they do something wrong ?

Humans feel guilty when they realize they have done something wrong , people don't feel guilty when they commit mistake . But they feel guilty when self - realize they done the mistake.

Why does guilty feel come in humans when they know they done the mistake unknowingly . Because people don't feel guilty when they commit mistake knowingly.

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    Is it a mistake when they do it knowingly? There is a purpose then, and they achieve that purpose from making that mistake.
    – rus9384
    May 21, 2018 at 11:21
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    why is this off-topic? i find it interesting.
    – Themobisback
    May 21, 2018 at 14:45
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    Would you prefer that they felt good when they realised they had done 'something wrong'? The question itself has perhaps more to do with human psychology than with philosophy.
    – Mozibur Ullah
    May 21, 2018 at 22:39
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    @Themobisback "interesting" is not the deciding factor in whether a question is on or off-topic. The deciding factors are (1) can the question be reasonable answered (2) within the domain of philosophy (3) under the rules of an SE (not opinion-based).
    – virmaior
    May 21, 2018 at 22:55
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    for whatever it's worth, have read that it is because one is turning away from the Source (i.e. the Deity) when he does something wrong, and his inner being feels that as sadness. but no way to prove this of course
    – michael
    May 22, 2018 at 10:22

2 Answers 2

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Psychologists would probably argue this is partially due to cognitive dissonance - when your actions are contrary to established or held norms. The disconnect between what one knows is right vs actual action creates a state of stress that is absent when the action was a true mistake (or accident, because the agency is different).

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My answer supposes that religion is a nature of human beings. How i define religion is by a broad definition which can include Christianity, communism and even atheism.

If we are inherently and naturally religious, then salvation is a common desire. If we take Christianity as a literal and basic example for religion, then the guilt is the fear that arises due to committing a sin.

Now , how this can be generally applied to include any other non literal forms of religion (Ex: communism): The question here is, from where is the superego (ego-ideal) being fueled ? In the example of Christianity,the answer is religious believes. But In-case of consumerism, the superego is being supplied by the culture. In rare cases , the superego might be personal, which results in a behavior which is not welcomed by the culture, for example: a maniac that does not suffer guilt after killing. (because killing is not forbidden in his superego)

What i am trying to say, is that guilt is a result of a receiving a low self-esteem, which happens , when one's self-image collides with his ego-ideal.

Why does guilty feel come in humans when they know they done
the mistake unknowingly . Because people don't feel guilty 
when they commit mistake knowingly.

There could be two reasons why people do not feel guilty when committing mistakes knowingly:

-Their ego defense mechanisms suppressed the guilt.

-Their superego does not consider it a mistake or a sin. (as the above example)

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    "...then the guilt is the fear that arises due to committing a sin." Of course, I am interested whether all those people really have such reasoning.
    – rus9384
    May 21, 2018 at 17:28

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