Editing Guilt (emotion) (section)

=== In Epicurean Philosophy ===
In his Kyriai Doxai ([[Principal Doctrines]]) 17 and 35, [[Epicurus]] teaches that we may identify and diagnose guilt by its signs and perturbations.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kyriai Doxai|url=https://monadnock.net/epicurus/principal-doctrines.html|access-date=2022-07-29|website=Principal Doctrines.com}}</ref> Within his ethical system based on pleasure and pain, guilt manifests as constant fear of detection that emerges from "secretly doing something contrary to an agreement to not harm one another or be harmed".

Since Epicurus rejects supernatural claims, the easiest way to avoid this perturbation is to avoid the antisocial behavior in order to continue enjoying [[ataraxia]] (the state of no-perturbation). However, once guilt is unavoidable, Epicurean Guides recommended confession of one's offenses as a practice that helps to purge the character from its evil tendencies and reform the character. According to Norman DeWitt, author of "St Paul and Epicurus", confession was one of the Epicurean practices that was later appropriated by the early Christian communities.<ref>{{Cite web|title=St. Paul and Epicurus|url=https://archive.org/details/stpaulepicurus0000dewi/page/n219/mode/2up|access-date=2022-07-29|website=archive.org}}</ref>