Here’s a more enlightened view of persons who appear to be unremorseful:
The feeling of guilt can sometimes be so intolerable that it is the ego’s natural reaction to protect itself. Having acted on the whims of the id through a wrongdoing, the ego is subjected to the superego’s voice of reason—our conscience, which may be a very stressful experience. We employ defense mechanisms in order to help us cope.
It is amazing to note the broad range of defenses than an ego can use. It can begin with denial—blocking external events and refusing to face, if not confront the situation, followed by projection, which allows us to attribute our poor judgment to another person. Minimization, on the other hand, lets us downplay the intensity of our mistakes.
More beautifully, the ego can resort to sublimation or the conversion of guilt and shame into something constructive. It may also be the ego’s way to remind its external reality—family but mostly, friends—of the good deeds that it has done in the past as a way of denying the painful truth. And, it may also be his way of consoling his wearied ego, unconsciously making efforts to compensate for its mistake.
As posted by Joyce on Facebook
14 May 2014
