The Power of Guilt

When was the last time you felt guilty?Chances are, you don’t even want to think about it – most of us would rather not. Guilt is messy, uncomfortable and one of the most powerful emotions we experience as humans. As soon as we feel it, we want it gone.

But, despite the discomfort, guilt contains an important purpose. It provides us with an opportunity to grow, make amends and strengthen our relationships. It holds us accountable and can influence huge social change. When we can acknowledge guilt in its truest form, we become emotionally healthier and happier.

Guilt by Chris Moore is a deep dive into one of our most excruciating – and underutilised – emotions. Through extensive research in psychology, psychotherapy, philosophy, comparative religion and legal studies, as well as his own experiences with it, Moore takes the reader on an eye-opening journey through guilt and shows us that, by embracing it, we may improve our lives, our relationships and our mental health.

So no matter who you are or what you have done, you can take comfort in the fact that our ability to feel guilt is a gift, not a burden.

Author Biography

Dr. Chris Moore is a professor of psychology and former dean of science at Dalhousie University in Canada, as well as a former Canada Research Chair at the University of Toronto. He has spent his career studying human social understanding and relations, and has published over 100 research papers, edited 5 books and special issues of academic journals, and authored The Development of Commonsense Psychology (Psychology Press, 2006). Moore’s work has been cited in mainstream print publications such as Psychology Today, Today’s Parent, and the New York Times.