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RE: [Discussion] Is pride good? My thoughts on Book 1 of Homer's "The Iliad"

in #philosophylast month (edited)

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Hi @cmp2020

Welcome back home.
Congratulations on your two degrees obtained after so many hours of study.

Many years ago in high school we were told to read the entire Iliad, if I remember correctly it was the origin of what happened in Troy. I remember how their gods seemed very human but with superpowers.

Regarding the question: Is pride good?

I start first with how you define pride: as a virtue (which is perhaps the definition given by Greeks and Trojans). Or if on the contrary you define it as something vile and sinful, which is how we generally handle it.

I could find situations in which it is good to be proud and to have pride (in Spanish we have those two verbs closely linked to identity). Especially when it refers to pride in oneself, one's family, one's nationality. "Being and Having" pride becomes necessary on those occasions.

In the same way, Judeo-Christian culture has inoculated us with the notion of pride as a sin, when you take your pride to the extreme of comparing yourself to God.
It is also seen as a weakness, and I exemplify this in the case of Achilles, who could be said to have a crack in his heel.

So to round things off and from a more pragmatic position, pride can be good or bad depending on how much you generate, the behaviors you produce from that pride and on whom or what it is centered, that is, who you "idolatize": are you an "egolater"? are you an "idolater"? when you put your pride outside: family, country, money, the free market.


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Hi @joslud,

Thanks for your reply! I think I would generally define pride as bad. At least pride in oneself (though self confidence is important). I think you are absolutely right: pride in one's family, one's community, or one's country can be very good (but also can be taken too far). You are definitely correct that it depends on the situation. I will say I think in the context of book one of the Iliad, it is bad. I find myself wondering: how many men are going to die because Achilles feels undervalued? His pride for himself has trumped his pride in his country and his love for his fellow men, and because of this many will suffer.

Thanks again for your reply! I hope to post more about the Iliad in the near future.

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