In The Culture of Shame, Harvard psychiatrist Andrew P. Morrison argues that shame pervades our culture. From its early references in biblical stories to the works of philosophers such as Nietzsche and Sartre and contemporary novelists Philip Roth and Toni Morrison, the experience of shame emerges as a theme of human experience. Yet, until recently, professional psychology did not acknowledge the role of shame, focusing instead on guilt. Indeed, our modern culture, which emphasizes independence and personal responsibility, tends to view shame as the mark of an inferior or self-absorbed individual.