Pride
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Pride is defined by
Pride may be considered the opposite of
While some philosophers such as Aristotle (and George Bernard Shaw) consider pride (but not hubris) a profound virtue, some world religions consider pride's fraudulent form a sin, such as is expressed in Proverbs 11:2 of the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, pride is called the root of all evil. When viewed as a virtue, pride in one's abilities is known as virtuous pride, greatness of soul, or magnanimity, but when viewed as a vice it is often known to be self-idolatry, sadistic contempt, vanity, or vainglory.
Etymology
Proud comes from late Old English prut, probably from Old French prud "brave, valiant" (11th century) (which became preux in French), from Late Latin term prodis "useful", which is compared with the Latin prodesse "be of use".[11] The sense of "having a high opinion of oneself", not in French, may reflect the Anglo-Saxons' opinion of the Norman knights who called themselves "proud".[12]
Ancient Greek philosophy
Aristotle identified pride (megalopsuchia, variously translated as proper pride, the greatness of soul and magnanimity)[13] as the crown of the virtues, distinguishing it from vanity, temperance, and humility, thus:
By a high-minded man we seem to mean one who claims much and deserves much: for he who claims much without deserving it is a fool; but the possessor of a virtue is never foolish or silly. The man we have described, then, is high-minded. He who deserves little and claims little is temperate [or modest], but not high-minded: for high-mindedness [or greatness of soul] implies greatness, just as beauty implies stature; small men may be neat and well proportioned, but cannot be called beautiful.[14]
He concludes then that
High-mindedness, then, seems to be the crowning grace, as it were, of the virtues; it makes them greater, and cannot exist without them. And on this account it is a hard thing to be truly high-minded; for it is impossible without the union of all the virtues.[14]
By contrast, Aristotle defined the vice of hubris as follows:
to cause shame to the victim, not in order that anything may happen to you, nor because anything has happened to you, but merely for your own gratification. Hubris is not the requital of past injuries; this is revenge. As for the pleasure in hubris, its cause is this: naive men think that by ill-treating others they make their own superiority the greater.[15]
Thus, although pride and hubris are often deemed the same thing, for Aristotle and many philosophers hubris is an entirely different thing from pride.
Psychology
Pride, when classified as an emotion or passion, is both cognitive and evaluative; its object, that which it cognizes and evaluates, is the self and its properties, or something the proud individual identifies with.[10] The field of psychology classifies it with guilt and shame as a self-conscious emotion that results from the evaluations of oneself and one's behavior according to internal and external standards.[16] Pride results from satisfying or conforming to a standard; guilt or shame from defying it. There is a lack of research that addresses pride, perhaps because it is despised as well as valued in the individualist West, where it is experienced as pleasurable.[17]
Emotion
In psychological terms, positive pride is "a pleasant, sometimes exhilarating, emotion that results from a positive self-evaluation".[18] It was added to the University of California, Davis, "Set of Emotion Expressions", as one of three "self-conscious" emotions known to have recognizable expressions (along with embarrassment and shame).[19]
The term "fiero" was coined by Italian psychologist Isabella Poggi to describe the pride experienced and expressed in the moments following a personal triumph over adversity.[20] Facial expressions and gestures that demonstrate pride can involve a lifting of the chin, smiles, or arms on hips to demonstrate victory. Individuals may implicitly grant status to others based solely on their expressions of pride, even in cases in which they wish to avoid doing so. Indeed, some studies show that the nonverbal expression of pride conveys a message that is automatically perceived by others about a person's high social status in a group.[7]
Behaviorally, pride can also be expressed by adopting an expanded posture in which the head is tilted back and the arms extended out from the body. This postural display is innate as it is shown in congenitally blind individuals who have lacked the opportunity to see it in others.[21]
Positive outcomes
Pride results from self-directed satisfaction with meeting personal goals; for example positive performance outcomes elicit pride in a person when the event is appraised as having been caused by that person alone.[22][full citation needed]
Pride as a display of the strong self that promotes feelings of similarity to strong others, as well as differentiation from weak others. Seen in this light, pride can be conceptualized as a hierarchy-enhancing emotion, as its experience and display helps rid negotiations of conflict.[23]
Pride involves exhilarated pleasure and a feeling of accomplishment. It is related to "more positive behaviors and outcomes in the area where the individual is proud".
Economics
In the field of
Sin and self-acceptance
Inordinate self-esteem is called "pride".[29] Classical Christian theology views pride as being the result of high self-esteem, and thus[non sequitur] high self-esteem was viewed as the primary human problem, but beginning in the 20th century, "humanistic psychology" diagnosed the primary human problem as low self-esteem stemming from a lack of belief in one's "true worth". Carl Rogers observed that most people "regard themselves as worthless and unlovable." Thus, they lack self-esteem.[30]: 40, 87, 95
In the
King James Version of the Bible (1611), Book of Proverbs, 16:18
Terry Cooper describes excessive pride (along with low self-esteem) as an important framework in which to describe the human condition. He examines and compares the Augustinian-Niebuhrian conviction that pride is primary, the feminist concept of pride as being absent in the experience of women, the humanistic psychology position that pride does not adequately account for anyone's experience, and the humanistic psychology idea that if pride emerges, it is always a false front designed to protect an undervalued self.[30]
He considers that the work of certain neo-Freudian psychoanalysts, namely Karen Horney, and offers promise in dealing with[clarification needed] what he calls a "deadlock between the overvalued and undervalued self".[30]: 112–13 Cooper refers to their work in describing the connection between religious and psychological pride as well as sin to describe how a neurotic pride system underlies an appearance of self-contempt and low self-esteem:
The "idealized self," the "tyranny of the should," the "pride system", and the nature of self-hate all point toward the intertwined relationship between neurotic pride and self-contempt. Understanding how a neurotic pride system underlies an appearance of self-contempt and low self-esteem.[
sentence fragment][30]: 112–13
Thus, hubris, which is an exaggerated form of self-esteem, is sometimes actually a lie used to cover the lack of self-esteem the hubristic person feels deep down.
Hubris and group narcissism
Hubris is associated with more intra-individual negative outcomes and is commonly related to[clarification needed] expressions of aggression and hostility.[31][full citation needed] Hubris is not necessarily associated with high self-esteem but with highly fluctuating or variable self-esteem. Excessive feelings of hubris have a tendency to create conflict and sometimes to terminate close relationships, which has led it to be understood as one of the few emotions with no clear positive or adaptive functions.[32][full citation needed]
A group that boasts, gloats, or denigrates others tends to become a group with low social status or to be vulnerable to threats from other groups.
Research from the University of Sydney found that hubristic pride correlates with arrogance and self-aggrandizement and promotes prejudice and discrimination. But authentic pride is associated with self-confidence and accomplishment and promotes more positive attitudes toward outgroups and stigmatized individuals.[34]
Ethnic
The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (May 2010) |
Across the world
Pride in ones own ethnicity or ones own culture seems to universally have positive connotations,[dubious ][35] though like earlier discussions on pride, when pride tips into hubris, people have been known to commit atrocities.[36]
Types of pride across the world seem to have a broad variety. The difference of type may have no greater contrast than that between the U.S. and China.[ambiguous][37] In the U.S., individual pride tends[clarification needed] and seems to be held more often in thought. The people in China seem to hold greater views[clarification needed] for the nation as a whole.[38]
The value of pride in the individual or the society as a whole seems to be a running theme and debate among cultures.[39] This debate shadows the discussion on pride so much so that perhaps the discussion on pride shouldn't be about whether pride is necessarily good or bad, but about which form of it is the most useful.[39]
Pride has gained a lot of negative recognition in the western cultures largely due to its status as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. It was popularized by the Pope Gregory I of the Catholic Church in the late sixth century, but before that it was recognized by a Christian Monk named Evagrius Ponticus in the fourth century as one of the evils human beings should resist. [40]
German
In
Asian
The term "
Black
Black pride is a slogan used primarily in the United States to raise awareness for a black racial identity. The slogan has been used by African Americans of sub-Saharan African origin or ancestry to denote a feeling of self-confidence, self-respect, celebrating one's heritage, and being proud of one's worth.
White
Mad
Mad pride is a worldwide movement and philosophy that mentally ill people should be proud of their madness. It advocates mutual support and rallies for their rights,[44] and aims to popularize the word "mad" as a self-descriptor.[45]
LGBT
The word "pride" is used in this case as an antonym for "shame". It is an affirmation of self and community. The modern gay pride movement began after the Stonewall riots of the late 1960s. In June 1970, the first pride parade in the United States commemorated the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots—the nearly week-long uprising between New York City youth and police officers following a raid of Stonewall Inn.[48]
Vanity
In conventional parlance, vanity sometimes is used in a positive sense to refer to a rational concern for one's appearance, attractiveness, and dress, and is thus not the same as pride. However, it also refers to an excessive or irrational belief in or concern with one's abilities or attractiveness in the eyes of others and may in that sense be compared to pride. The term vanity originates from the Latin word vanitas meaning emptiness, untruthfulness, futility, foolishness, and empty pride.[49] Here empty pride means a fake pride, in the sense of vainglory, unjustified by one's own achievements and actions, but sought by pretense and appeals to superficial characteristics.
In many religions, vanity is considered a form of self-idolatry, in which one rejects God for the sake of one's own image, and thereby becomes divorced from the graces of God. The stories of Lucifer and Narcissus (who gave us the term narcissism), and others, attend to a pernicious aspect of vanity.
In Western art, vanity was often symbolized by a
References
- Cairns, Douglas L (1996). "Hybris, Dishonour, and Thinking Big" (PDF). Journal of Hellenic Studies. 116: 1–32. S2CID 59361502.
- MacDowell, Douglas (1976). "Hybris in Athens". Greece and Rome. 23: 14–31. S2CID 163033169.
- Owen, David (2007) The Hubris Syndrome: Bush, Blair and the Intoxication of Power Politico's, Methuen Publishing Ltd.
Further reading
- Jessica Tracy (2016). Take Pride: Why the Deadliest Sin Holds the Secret to Human Success. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0544273177.