--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Shame doesn't exist in the animal…" description: "\"Shame doesn't exist in the animal kingdom. It's a human conception.\" — Justin Torres" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/justin-torres-26975_animal_shame-doesn-t-exist-in-the-animal-kingdo_148620.png" --- # Shame doesn't exist in the animal kingdom. It's a human… ![“Shame doesn't exist in the animal kingdom. It's a human conception.” quote by Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/justin-torres-26975_animal_shame-doesn-t-exist-in-the-animal-kingdo_148620.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/justin-torres-26975_animal_shame-doesn-t-exist-in-the-animal-kingdo_148620.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/justin-torres-26975_animal_shame-doesn-t-exist-in-the-animal-kingdo_148620.png) > “Shame doesn't exist in the animal kingdom. It's a human conception.” [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shame is a uniquely human construct, not present in animal behavior, highlighting cultural origins of guilt. **In simple terms:** Shame is human‑made. Key Takeaway Reflect on the cultural roots of your emotions. Themes psychology culture ethics Mood introspective analytical Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - parenting - education - cultural studies Key Concepts social construct emotional regulation human uniqueness Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel shame because of cultural expectations? - How can you distinguish innate from socially imposed feelings? A Different Perspective Animals may experience other emotions, complicating the claim. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal kingdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-kingdom/) [Conception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conception/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Kingdoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kingdoms/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) ## Related quotes > [To accept the fact that, after fertilization has taken place, a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-lejeune/to-accept-the-fact-that-after-fertilization-has-taken-place-a-new/) [Jerome Lejeune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-lejeune/) > [The animal has no intellectual capacity to justify or to find reasons to exist. An animal just exists because it's the natural thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/the-animal-has-no-intellectual-capacity-to-justify-or-to-find-reasons/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [“The mystery of life is beyond all human conception. Everything we know is within the terminology of the concepts of being and not being,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-mystery-of-life-is-beyond-all-human-conception-everything-we-know/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“I had a chance to lay it all out on the table, and I didn't. But that's the problem with shame. Shame doesn't like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-quinn/i-had-a-chance-to-lay-it-all-out-on-the-table-and-i-didn-t-but-that-s/) [Meghan Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-quinn/) > [Good therapy helps. Good friends help. Pretending that we are doing better than we are doesn't. Shame doesn't. Being heard does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/good-therapy-helps-good-friends-help-pretending-that-we-are-doing/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Shame doesn't exist as an emotion without the projected or perceived sense of judgment coming from somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/shame-doesn-t-exist-as-an-emotion-without-the-projected-or-perceived/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [Slavery is something that is all too often swept under the carpet. The shame doesn't even belong to us, but we still experience it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/slavery-is-something-that-is-all-too-often-swept-under-the-carpet-the/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [I was 'alone' amongst the animal kingdom and I required of myself to see what was truly going on inside me so that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-treadwell/i-was-alone-amongst-the-animal-kingdom-and-i-required-of-myself-to/) [Timothy Treadwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-treadwell/) > [In the animal kingdom, one of the keys to survival is to outwit your enemies. And when you're surrounded by carnivores, one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-animal-kingdom-one-of-the-keys-to-survival-is-to-outwit-your/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Expedition EVEREST adds a new dimension to our storytelling in Disney's Animal Kingdom. It's a thrilling adventure themed to the folklore of the mysterious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-rohde/expedition-everest-adds-a-new-dimension-to-our-storytelling-in-disney/) Joe Rohde > [I am still passionate about Grizzly bears as well as the rest of the animal kingdom and I understand now how precious people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-treadwell/i-am-still-passionate-about-grizzly-bears-as-well-as-the-rest-of-the/) [Timothy Treadwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-treadwell/) > [The progress of dynamic ideals will not be eternally blocked. Through general, moral and intellectual advancement... shall the latent aspiration of justice for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-isaac-kook/the-progress-of-dynamic-ideals-will-not-be-eternally-blocked-through/) [Abraham Isaac Kook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-isaac-kook/) > [I placed myself in amongst the animal kingdom so that I would be able to confront myself actually. It did not start out as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-treadwell/i-placed-myself-in-amongst-the-animal-kingdom-so-that-i-would-be-able/) [Timothy Treadwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-treadwell/) > [I consider the differences between man and animals in propensities, feelings, and intellectual faculties, to be the result of the same cause as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-william-lawrence-1st-baronet/i-consider-the-differences-between-man-and-animals-in-propensities/) Sir William Lawrence, 1st Baronet > [In giving us dominion over the animal kingdom God has signified His will that we subdue the beast within ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/in-giving-us-dominion-over-the-animal-kingdom-god-has-signified-his/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) ## More by Justin Torres > [Sometimes I would be very upset because my memories are very murky from my childhood, but there are certain emotional memories or emotional truths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/sometimes-i-would-be-very-upset-because-my-memories-are-very-murky/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [“Always more, always hungrily scratching for more. But there were times, quiet moments, when our mother was sleeping, when she hadn’t slept in two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/always-more-always-hungrily-scratching-for-more-but-there-were-times/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [“I’m an adult,” the boy says. “I got rights.” “Everybody’s got rights. A man tied to a bed got rights. A man down in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/i-m-an-adult-the-boy-says-i-got-rights-everybody-s-got-rights-a-man/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [As you become an adult, shame gets introduced and reintroduced constantly to you. So where something that, to a child, just is what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/as-you-become-an-adult-shame-gets-introduced-and-reintroduced/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [I don't think that any family has a function. I just think that a family is. It just exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/i-don-t-think-that-any-family-has-a-function-i-just-think-that-a/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [Animals don't think in terms of victims and villains, or good and bad, or evil, or shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/animals-don-t-think-in-terms-of-victims-and-villains-or-good-and-bad/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [“All that pent up longing,” he says, “all that desire to flail and flap around. Them wings have needs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/all-that-pent-up-longing-he-says-all-that-desire-to-flail-and-flap/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [We hit and we kept on hitting; we were allowed to be what we were, frightened and vengeful — little animals, clawing at what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/we-hit-and-we-kept-on-hitting-we-were-allowed-to-be-what-we-were/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [“Each was radiant, gorgeous. How they posed for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/each-was-radiant-gorgeous-how-they-posed-for-me/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [This is your heritage,' he said, as if from this dance we could know about his own childhood, about the flavor and grit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/this-is-your-heritage-he-said-as-if-from-this-dance-we-could-know/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [“WE ALL THREE sat at the kitchen table in our raincoats, and Joel smashed tomatoes with a small rubber mallet. We had seen it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/we-all-three-sat-at-the-kitchen-table-in-our-raincoats-and-joel/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [“They weren't scared, or dispossessed, or fragile. They were possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/they-weren-t-scared-or-dispossessed-or-fragile-they-were-possible/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [What we gotta do is, we gotta figure out a way to reverse gravity, so that we all fall upward, through the clouds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/what-we-gotta-do-is-we-gotta-figure-out-a-way-to-reverse-gravity-so/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [I totally bristle against words like "dysfunction" or "abuse."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/i-totally-bristle-against-words-like-dysfunction-or-abuse/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [“Hours passed. A man came by twice and poked his head into my theater and looked at me questioningly. The third time, he came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/hours-passed-a-man-came-by-twice-and-poked-his-head-into-my-theater/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) [Explore all 21 Justin Torres quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Shame doesn't exist in the animal kingdom. 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