“Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.”Mark Twain · Scrieri și caiete · 1897 · Scrieri și caiete, Caietul 32
Blushing is the human sign of moral conscience and the capacity for shame.
Twain makes an observation about conscience and shame. Blushing is an involuntary physical response to embarrassment or guilt, unique to humans. The second part is bitter irony: people should blush much more often, given how many reprehensible things they do. For instance, we might blush with shame for the injustices we ignore, but we don't.
Why it matters It challenges us to reflect on the gap between what we feel we should be ashamed of and what actually makes us blush.