Pride is at the root of all evil

[highlander]

I heard someone say this yesterday? Do you agree? Not agree? Why?

(I'm not entirely certain I understand or agree with it which is why I'm posting this)

 

[prplchknz]

it's part of it, but pride can be good. Like you can have pride in your work, that's a good thing. But when you have pride in things you can't control and use it to justify putting others down it can be part of an evilness. so it depends where the pride comes from.IMO

 

[Qre:us]

I think there are two ways pride can be manifested - good and bad.

Hubris- bad

 

[Cellmold]

Explains why Pride was the strongest Homunculus.

At least in the light where he could draw power from shadows. Ironically I thought that was a great parable for actual pride, at least destructive pride, we need some pride in ourselves.

But pride is a bit of an ego beast, it munches on attention and having its achievements shined on, much like the light, but once the light is removed it crawls back into the shadows and is diminished.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I think trust in yourself is fine and a good thing. I'm not sure if that's pride or not. Believing that you are invincible and incapable of error is a different thing entirely, and is probably not a good thing.

 

[Amargith]

I think it is one of the more common emotions to be at the root of harming others yes. But, every emotion has a good way to use it and a bad way, and pride is far from the only cause. Fear, wrath, loss, envy, loneliness, all of them can drive a person to do 'evil' things. And all of them also have a beneficial and vital part to play in a person's life. It's a matter of how that impulse, given by that emotion, is processed by the person and whether they have the psychological tools to act properly on those impulses.

 

[Stanton Moore]

Greed and indifference are worse imo.

 

[Ginkgo]

An inflated sense of self-worth is negative IMO because it distorts how you view yourself in relation to your achievements and aspirations. Therefore, it hamstrings the "pride" of a more positive connotation - having a decent appreciation for that which you are responsible for. "Positive pride" and "negative pride", I think, are mutually exclusive; it would be reasonable to use different terms entirely to refer to them in separate categories. Otherwise, you wind up with people who value the diminishment of self-worth or value being egotistical after confusing cultural values.

 

[Magic Poriferan]

That was very nearly my signature for a while.

I'm touchy with the concept of sin. I don't fundamentally believe in sins, but let's use the concept as a heuristic.

If you subscribe to an altruistic moral scheme, then I basically think the statement is true. I do think that that malice, avarice, cowardice, deceit, and even ignorance, are largely born out of ego, and you know, none of those things would actually be bad if you followed a strictly egoist ethic. But I do not.

So I give a qualified yes.

 

[RaptorWizard]

No, I don't agree. Evil seems to equate with suffering life feels in responce to not dealing well with the chaos of change.

I actually think that pride is a good trait, as it gives us faith in our own promise and abilities, which is much of the force needed to conquer evil.

 

[Rasofy]

Pride explains ego-based evil, but there's id and superego based evil. To get a little more concrete, eliminating pride wouldn't solve pedophilia.

(attn IXTPs: Don't quote me to talk shit about Freud - that's not the point)

 

[greenfairy]

Pride explains ego-based evil, but there's id and superego based evil. To get a little more concrete, eliminating pride wouldn't solve pedophilia.

(attn IXTPs: Don't quote me to talk shit about Freud - that's not the point)

I think of ego as a broad term to mean something like self importance. So I've thought for awhile that all unethical situations result from one person having an exaggerated sense of self importance. An ethical situation is where there is a balance of power. That's my version of Taoism applied to ethics.

Edit: So pride or ego in the negative sense would be an imbalanced ego; a balanced ego is good thing.

 

[Cellmold]

 

[Udog]

I heard someone say this yesterday? Do you agree? Not agree? Why?

I could really dig into this, but in short, this statement feels slightly off to me. I dig the paradoxical nature of pride being a source of great good and great evil, so that's not my issue. Pride just isn't enough of a fundamental drive, I think. Pride is just a reward mechanism and motivator to acquire status and resources. It's the drive for status and resources, left unchecked, that seems to be the true root of evil.

What keeps that drive in check? I'd say empathy. When we feel someone else's pain and motivations, and view them as a fellow human being that shares our struggles and desires, it becomes harder to wrong them. It's been shown that money and power both decrease empathy, which may be why "money is the root of all evil" and "power corrupts".

 

[Ginkgo]

 

[Stanton Moore]

I think child abuse is probably at the root of most evil.

Read this:
http://www.alice-miller.com/articles_en.php?nid=47

 

[mouse]

I feel as though egocentricity is more of a root. (That can lead to child abuse and other crimes).
It's not just pride, but being unable to think of everyone around you as actual people with real lives and feelings. Sort of like you're the main character and everyone else are just disposable extras.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Pride explains ego-based evil, but there's id and superego based evil. To get a little more concrete, eliminating pride wouldn't solve pedophilia.

(attn IXTPs: Don't quote me to talk shit about Freud - that's not the point)

Freud was wrong about stuff. LOL penis envy and mom-fucking.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Pride explains ego-based evil, but there's id and superego based evil. To get a little more concrete, eliminating pride wouldn't solve pedophilia.

(attn IXTPs: Don't quote me to talk shit about Freud - that's not the point)

Freud was wrong about stuff. LOL penis envy and mom-fucking.

Actually, I really like the idea of an ego, id, and superego. Just because a physical correlation hasn't been discovered yet doesn't mean it's necessarily invalid.

 

[WALMART]

Pride does not equate to confidence nor faith.

Pride is an emotional attachment to a quality or ability in possession.

Fuck pride.