I suspected your interpretation of C&T to be uncharitable, since they seem to be so clearly wrong [to me]. But reading at that link, you appear to have their position correct. Importantly, they characterize the recollections one has about the guilt-inspiring event, and the conscious pondering one often does about alternative ways to have approached that event, as part of the actual mechanism of the learning process for the guilt-module. That sounds unlikely to me. If the mechanism that computes the affective state change is unconscious, why would it’s learning process be conscious?
I suspect it would be closer to say that the conscious mind is spinning its wheels trying to figure out why it’s in the affective state it is in, while having substantial inward-looking epistemic impairments made even worse by the operation of the guilt mode. We might draw conscious conclusions but those strike me as largely independent and distinct from the operation of our guilt reflex. This might seem wasteful to have independence, but the key thing for evolution to sort out is behavior, not efficiency.
The following also shows their confusion, as they seem unaware of the possible social reasonings you provide (can they really not be aware of those?):
“These [including guilt] are emotion programs that have appeared puzzling from a functional perspective because the feelings they engender interfere with short-term utilitarian action that an active organism might be expected to engage in. ”
I suspected your interpretation of C&T to be uncharitable, since they seem to be so clearly wrong [to me]. But reading at that link, you appear to have their position correct. Importantly, they characterize the recollections one has about the guilt-inspiring event, and the conscious pondering one often does about alternative ways to have approached that event, as part of the actual mechanism of the learning process for the guilt-module. That sounds unlikely to me. If the mechanism that computes the affective state change is unconscious, why would it’s learning process be conscious?
I suspect it would be closer to say that the conscious mind is spinning its wheels trying to figure out why it’s in the affective state it is in, while having substantial inward-looking epistemic impairments made even worse by the operation of the guilt mode. We might draw conscious conclusions but those strike me as largely independent and distinct from the operation of our guilt reflex. This might seem wasteful to have independence, but the key thing for evolution to sort out is behavior, not efficiency.
The following also shows their confusion, as they seem unaware of the possible social reasonings you provide (can they really not be aware of those?):