Guilt

Two senses of the concept guilt arise in moral contexts.  In the first sense, guilt is simply the state of having done something wrong.  We might say, for example, that a person is guilty of wrongdoing if he has committed a robbery.  This usage of the term ‘guilt’ extends beyond moral contexts to legal contexts.  Thus, although we may judge the robber to be guilty of wrongdoing quite apart from any legal context, we may also find the robber guilty of wrongdoing in a court of law.

The second sense of guilt describes an emotional or psychological state.  A person may ‘feel guilty’ for having done (or failing to have done) something.  In some cases, this feeling of guilt may arise even when no actual wrongdoing has occurred.  A person may feel guilty, for example, if the person believes that he or she has offended or angered another person, even when the other person is not in fact offended or angered.

The reverses, of course, also occurs.  An individual may in fact be guilty of wrongdoing yet feel no sense of guilt for what he or she has done.  A financier who has been convicted of fraud, for example, may maintain her innocence, and feel no guilt, despite being proven guilty of wrongdoing.

The avoidance of guilt and the consequences that accompany it (punishment, repayment, mental anguish, etc.) often provide motivation for individuals to refrain from wrongdoing.  In this way guilt can also be seen as a form of moral reinforcement.