Definitionv1DF-720
Conditioned guilt
an emotional pattern installed through years of socialization that equates any assertion of your own needs with moral failure, borrowing the feeling-tone of genuine moral guilt but carrying no genuine moral information
Why This Is a Definition
This definition precisely establishes the semantic boundary of 'conditioned guilt' by identifying its genus (emotional pattern) and differentia (installed through socialization, equating need assertion with moral failure, borrowing feeling-tone but lacking moral information). It distinguishes this from genuine moral guilt and provides clear criteria for identification.