Kant’s conception of remorse has received little discussion in the literature. I argue that he thinks we ought to experience remorse for both retributivist and forward-looking reasons. This account casts helpful light on his ideas of conversion and the descent into the hell of self-cognition. But while he prescribes a heartbreakingly painful experience of remorse, he acknowledges that excess remorse can threaten rational agency through distraction and suicide, and this raises questions about whether actual human beings ought to cultivate their consciences in such a way as to experience remorse in the way he conceives it.

Parenting has a strong influence on child development. However, there is minimal empirical evidence on why some parents use beneficial techniques, while others use harmful behaviours. Thus, there is a significant gap in the knowledge needed to address problematic parenting. Theories suggest that parental self-concept has a large influence on parenting behaviours. The aim of this study was to examine the relation between parent self-cognitions and parenting behaviours. One-hundred and four mothers of Grade 7 students completed questionnaires measuring their self-esteem, self-criticism, domain-specific self-concept, and parenting behaviours (support, behavioural control, and psychological control). Regression analyses demonstrated that self-cognitions largely predicted psychological control but support or behavioural control did not. These findings suggest that psychologically controlling behaviour in parents may be due to poor self-worth. With psychological control known to deeply damage children, these findings have major implications for interventions targeting harmful parenting.