Embarrassment vs Humiliation

[VeganCaesar]

This post is in response to another thread that now appears to be closed:

To be embarrassed is to have your weaknesses or flaws exposed, either by others or by oneself.

To be humiliated is to have your weaknesses or flaws exploited, either by others or by the circumstances.

For example, a student may be embarrassed by the teacher when the teacher calls on the student for an answer and the student is exposed for not knowing it. However, the student may be humiliated by the teacher if the teacher continues to ask the student questions while knowing that the student doesn’t have the answers.

Also, student can embarrass themselves by volunteering to answer a question from a teacher without being certain they have the answer. However, a student can humiliate themselves via circumstances by volunteering to answer a question from a teacher and then being exposed for not only not knowing the answer but not even understanding the question.

 

[emsr2d2]

Can you post the link to the closed thread? If your response is relevant and useful, we can reopen the original thread and then merge the two.

 

[probus]

Without regard to the alleged closed thread:

Humiliation is something that is imposed on one by external forces, whether people or circumstances.

Embarrassment, on the other hand, is a personal emotional response that we feel. It may be a response to a humiliating person or event. But it may also be innate. We may be inclined to feel embarrassed by certain aspects of ourselves, regardless of whether there is a real source of humiliation. If so, that is one example of what we call neurosis.