Is guilt the voice of our conscience? Yes, you can probably say so. Conscience is not inherent in a person from birth, it is brought up. And the more conscience arises and strengthens in a person, the more sharply he feels his guilt even for what, in fact, he is not guilty of, but for which he could oppose.
Conscience is the basis of a person's existence in society. But what explains the negative connotation that many people give to feelings of guilt? Apparently, in conventional wisdom, two concepts are confused: guilt as a voice of conscience and neurotic guilt, imaginary, the redemption of which is impossible, but which, nevertheless, torments a person and forces him to perform actions that go beyond the norm. Like many spheres of the human psyche: love, patriotism, creativity, - conscience and, accordingly, the feeling of guilt can exist both in a harmonious, full-fledged, and in a perverted, pathological form. And in the latter case, guilt, as a rule, turns out not to stem from a person's violation of his own moral standards, but imposed from the outside - by wrong upbringing, historically established public opinion, and erroneous ideology.
The "sinfulness" of any person, preached by practically all religions, should be attributed to the neurotic form of the feeling of guilt. Despite the developed rituals and moral self-improvement, for many religious people, for various reasons, the desire for personal salvation becomes hypertrophied - and so long fasts, wearing chains, self-flagellation and even self-immolation are used to atone for sins. The feeling of guilt acquired by a child to whom physical punishment was applied (“if they beat me, it means I’m bad”) can later find expression in aggression, in antisocial behavior. Victims of sexual violence in many societies, instead of evoking sympathy, often incur accusations of what happened (“it's my own fault”), and a social boycott, “shame” can drive the victim to suicide.
All cases where guilt feelings are neurotic in nature require the work of a psychotherapist. If guilt for committed acts fosters responsibility in a person, stimulates him not to commit such actions in the future, then we can talk about a healthy, mature person who has genuine morality and is able to function effectively for the good of society.
