Guilt: Good conditioner? Detrimental to well-being?

[Revenant]

Watched CSI Miami fairly recently, and a quote from the movie...paraphrased...'Guilt is what keeps you sharp'. Anyways this got me thinking about the purpose of guilt.

So is guilt a good conditioner? When is guilt a good thing if it is a good thing? Or is it detrimental to happiness, and therefore to be avoided? Or is there some sort of balance?

 

[Tsuyoiko]

I'm not sure guilt is very healthy. I prefer that we should know right from wrong without having to rely on an emotional response. But I guess we all make mistakes sometimes, so guilt could be useful then - in helping us see when we have done wrong inadvertantly.