Center for Contemporary Practical Philosophy. Project of Doctor of Philosophy Andrei Gennadyevich Myasnikov and the Penza branch of the Russian Philosophical Society. What is pride and how is it different from pride

“Indeed, pride, which manifests itself in vanity and arrogance, in ecstasy own possibilities, indicates an inflated ego and can be destructive. But if we are talking about the satisfaction and joy that we experience when we see the successful result of our hard work, then this is an important and useful emotion that helps us become more persistent and resilient. And for people in creative professions, wounded pride at some moment of crisis can be an important sign that the wrong decision has been made. In some cases, this may mean that it is time to change the strategy or even choose a completely different direction.

Take the example of ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes, who once ran 563 kilometers in a single run and another time ran 50 marathons in 50 days. This person seems to have a very serious motivation. But where did she come from? The impetus was on his 30th birthday, when Karnazes reflected on his life and career in a very promising sales field, which, however, did not cause him any sense of pride. As psychologist Jessica Tracy of the University of British Columbia, Canada, explains, it was this lack of self-esteem that propelled Karnazes to become one of the world's most successful distance runners. “Karnazes started running not because he knew it would change his life, but because he wanted to feel something,” writes Jessica Tracy.

Wounded pride turns out to be a kind of “achievement barometer” that encourages us to develop

If you have recently experienced disappointment: let's say your carefully thought out project was rejected or an order for your creative work- your self-esteem has collapsed and you have engaged in self-criticism, try not to immerse yourself in this depressive state. Instead, use hurt feelings of pride to motivate yourself to do something and make a difference. If you are quite successful, but your achievements do not cause you true satisfaction and pride, it may be time to reconsider your work priorities.

In general, we could all benefit by listening to this feeling. “We often live by inertia, when it seems that everything seems to be in order, but still we lack this feeling of victory, taken heights,” the psychologist explains. - Awareness of feelings dignity often pushes us to do something else and live differently.”

Together with her colleagues at the University of British Columbia and the University of Rochester, Jessica Tracy has conducted a series of studies on this topic. For example, they measured students' sense of pride in their achievement on an exam and noticed that those who reported feeling a prick of self-esteem (did not feel satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment) for their low result, as a rule, said that they planned to prepare for exams differently. And on the next exam a few weeks later, they scored better. Those students who received poor marks on the first exam and did not feel that their pride was hurt did not demonstrate such improvements.

Also, as part of the study, psychologists interviewed members of the running club after the race. The bottom line is the same: those who ran badly and were hurt by it tended to say they planned to change their training regimen and improved their performance the next race. These results show that hurt pride is a kind of “achievement barometer” that motivates us to develop. The most important thing, of course, is not just to notice, but to take the time and effort to reflect on that feeling (or lack of it) to really boost your motivation.

Do you see the cause of the troubles in what is realistic to fix, or in your personal qualities?

But one word of caution: if you've gone through a series of disappointments and are not just hurt, but depressed and completely lost confidence in yourself, then you run the risk of reaching self-abasement. Shame is the feeling that “I can’t do anything, I’m not good at it, which means I won’t try anymore, because it will end in failure anyway.” Such a statement is by no means motivating. “Puffed-up pride, on the other hand, means that you lack validation of your competence and accomplishments and are trying to validate your abilities again,” explains Jessica Tracy.

There is a great way to determine whether you are feeling hurt pride or shame. Think about whether you see the cause of the trouble in something that can be fixed, such as a lack of effort or the wrong strategy, or something that indicates the kind of person you are. For example, if your latest project didn't get a lot of positive feedback and you justify it as being a bad designer and lacking talent, that is, of course, demoralizing. But if you feel a burning desire to be proud of yourself and know what you need to do to succeed next time, this can be a powerful motivating force.

So treat your sense of self-respect with…respect. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be even more proud of yourself for your passion, dedication and determination.

For more details, see Online 99U.

about the author

Christian Jarrett psychologist, award-winning science journalist, editor and host of the official blog British Psychological Society Research Digest. Author and co-author of several books, including The Rough Guide to Psychology (Rough Guides, 2011).

1 For more information, see Take Pride, Why The Deadliest Sin Holds The Secret To Human Success by J. Tracy, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016.

The Church constantly speaks of the sinfulness of human pride and pride. But is there anything wrong with being proud of one's people, one's homeland, Russian culture and science? What is wrong with such pride?

In order to answer this question, we first need to determine what meaning we put in the words pride And pride.

Orthodox spiritual tradition puts an equal sign between pride And pride. This was reflected in the Russian language and Russian literature. So, for example, in "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" A.N. Radish's word pride acts as a synonym for vanity and arrogance, that is, it corresponds to the concept of pride. However, in the Western spiritual tradition it is customary to distinguish pride And pride, and the first is understood in a neutral or positive sense as a sense of one's own dignity, the dignity of one's people and country, and even as a consciousness of the height of one's own Christian faith and adoption by God.

As explained pride modern dictionaries? Pride is defined as self-esteem, satisfaction from any perfect deeds, self-respect. But besides that, it is an inflated self-esteem, arrogance. On the one hand, this is a normal feeling in relation to oneself and other people, and on the other hand, a negative feeling that a person can experience both in relation to himself personally, elevating himself, and to those around him, belittling them.

In some cases, such pride can have a positive connotation when referring to human talent or labor achievements. In other cases, when a person is proud of his material values, clothes or appearance, this feeling cannot be called good and bright. Thus, in different eras and in different situations, the word pride can have different meanings - positive or negative. And even such a seemingly good feeling as national pride, may have a completely different value.

Love and affection for the Motherland, awareness of its cultural, economic, scientific and other achievements, readiness to defend your people and country without sparing yourself - all this is very good. However, unfortunately, history, both older and modern, can show many tragic examples. national pride. We can clearly see this in the ideology of fascism, which affirms the absolute superiority of its nation and its language over other peoples and other cultures. Such national pride does no good to anyone.

Currently the word pride is used quite rarely - usually it is replaced by other words related to this concept: vanity, selfishness, arrogance, arrogance. Unlike the word pride pride has an exclusively negative meaning. To the concept pride also include such qualities as hypocrisy, stubbornness, capriciousness, suspiciousness, uncontrollability, captiousness, insolence, cruelty, causticity, rejection of generally accepted norms of morality and behavior.

Thus, in modern usage of the word pride And pride may have opposite meanings in some cases, and the same in others.

Now let's turn to the traditional understanding of Orthodox culture and spirituality. pride.

The Gospel of Mark quotes the words of Jesus Christ: What comes out of a person defiles a person. For from within, out of the human heart, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, malice, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness - all this evil comes from within and defiles a person.(Mark 7:19-23).

The Lord unequivocally evaluates pride (in the sense of pride) as an evil for the person himself, which disfigures his soul.

The holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian assesses pride as a consequence of the fall: The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, are not from the Father(i.e. from God. - Approx. Aut.), but from this world(1 John 2:16). Expression this world in the usage of the apostles unequivocally speaks of the sinful damage by the fall of the ancestors of the world in which we live. Therefore, in this case the words this world talk about the sin that infects our world. In the same sense uses the word pride and the holy apostle Paul (see 2 Cor. 12:20; 1 Tim. 6:4).

The cause of the fall of the devil, who was originally one of the highest angels, and his transformation into a spirit of malice, the holy apostle Paul calls pride(see 1 Tim. 3:6).

Where does it come from pride in a person? According to St. Athanasius the Great, people began to desire what seemed pleasant to them, based solely on their own opinion, and not on God's will. A person for whom God was the center and object of aspirations and desires turned away from Him, put himself and his will at the center of his life and loved himself more than God (see St. Athanasius the Great. Word on the Gentiles). A person puts himself in the place of God - what is good and right is exactly what the person himself wants and likes, regardless of the spiritual and moral assessment of this. Concentration on oneself leads a person away from God and from the people around him. He, according to the idea of ​​the priest Alexander Elchaninov, is split off from the common trunk of the universe and turns into shavings, curled around an empty place.

According to the Monk John of the Ladder, “the proud is like an apple, rotten inside, and shining with beauty on the outside” (Ladder). According to the monk, “pride is the extreme poverty of the soul”; pride And vanity- "the bosses and parents of all passions" (i.e. sins); pride, as on a horse, rides on vanity. In fact, pride is the beginning of all sins and vices in human life.

The proud man fails on all fronts. What awaits him? Psychologically - melancholy, darkness, spiritual sterility. Morally - loneliness, the drying up of love, anger. Physiologically and pathologically - nervous and mental illnesses. From a theological point of view - the death of the soul, going ahead of bodily death, hell in the soul while still alive.

Therefore, the task of a Christian is to actively fight with pride in his soul, so that instead of it, sincere love for God and people settles in his heart, and along with this real happiness comes. eternal life for which man was created.

To the one who asks who are the "poor in spirit"
(Matthew 5:3), our Lord Jesus Christ said. Is it confusing to you. The confusion comes from the fact that you confuse the stupidity of the underdeveloped people with the poverty that Christ praises.

Don't be afraid to be yourself

Each of us has to communicate at work, at home, with friends. In what cases does it become harmful to the soul?
It happens that a person begins to struggle with the sin of idle talk, refrains from unnecessary talk, and the people around him take offense, accuse him of unwillingness to communicate, etc. What to do in such a situation?

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You can be proud of many things and not be burdened with pride.
One can also feel a sense of pride in a child who, as we think, is so smart, smarter than all the others.
You can tell a girl that she has no sense of pride, because. allows his young man treat her badly.

Three different perspectives pride. What does the Bible say about pride?

bible about pride

The Bible speaks of pride unequivocally: sin!

It is a mask that hides fear. Pride originates in low self-esteem and begins to force a person from the inside to act on the principle: “I am the best, I will make everyone love me.” He is simply afraid in the eyes of people to be a nobody, a nonentity.

In the Bible, in the book of the prophet Obadiah (1:3-4), it is said about pride:

“The pride of your heart has deceived you; you live in the clefts of the rocks in a high place and say in your heart: “Who will bring me down to the ground?”. But even if you rise high like an eagle and make your nest among the stars, then from there I will bring you down, says the Lord.”

There is not a single line in the Bible that says that one should be proud of something, that one should be proud of something. And all the components of pride - arrogance, vanity, arrogance, pomposity, are called evil:

"All vanity is evil" (James 4:16).
“Pride goes before destruction, and arrogance before a fall” Proverbs 16:18.
“The haughty one stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will prosper” Proverbs 28:25.
“The pride of a man humiliates him, but the humble in spirit gains honor” Proverbs 29:23.

Scholars on Pride

Philologists, psychologists and philosophers have many definitions of pride. They distinguish positive and negative components this term. They separate pride from pride and arrogance. Equate pride to honor, freedom, strength, courage, success. It is believed that pride should be inherent in every fully developed personality.

people and pride

I think that all people are subject to pride. There is hardly a person who is completely devoid of pride.

There are many different prides, which are now of no value at all. So why be proud? If pride leads to stress. After all, what we were proud of ultimately disappoints us, does not justify our hopes. I think you need to take life easier, avoid all kinds of feelings of pride in order to protect yourself from stress.

For example, in my life there is an event that starts to cause me pride. I comfort myself. I understand that these events must take place in my life. Everything that happened is normal, good, wonderful, as it should be. Thank God it happened! But there is nothing to be proud of! After all, if I do something, I do what I have to do. If I succeed, it is a reward for my labors. That's all! Thank God for this!

Might be interesting:

In 2014, I conducted a pilot (reconnaissance) sociological study among residents of the city of Penza and the region, related to the study of traditional values ​​and stereotypes of consciousness. It was attended by about 350 people of three different generations: from 18 to 23, from 40 to 50 and from 60 to 80 years.

One of the questions in the survey was: Is it good to be a proud person?

The preliminary results of the study surprised me greatly.

1. About 40% of respondents of different ages believe that pride is a sin and vice.
2. About 40% consider pride to be a useless and even harmful human quality that prevents them from achieving their goals.
3. About 20% consider pride to be a positive moral quality, thanks to which a person defends his dignity.

So, what do our contemporaries understand by pride?

From the analysis of the answers, it follows that the first group confuses pride with pride, and, following their moral and religious convictions, considers it a sin, a deviation from divine commandments. Such confusion can be explained by the fact that even Patriarch Kirill often allows such confusion, and besides, the modern subservient media also do not really care about distinguishing between pride and pride - after all, it is better, calmer, when there are fewer proud and independent ...

The second group of answers, speaking about the uselessness of this quality, shows the predominance of pragmatic life attitudes, which are confidently spreading in our society. It is no coincidence that the president and his ministers constantly convince their viewers of the need to be successful and competitive. A pragmatic focus on benefit, success and material well-being have always been important motives for human behavior. But why does pride get in the way of these goals? Probably because it interferes modern man be flexible, obedient, command being; it opposes the individual to the rest of society and harms both him and others. After all, pride implies adherence to principles and the presence of self-esteem, but these qualities can be an obstacle in a “team game” without clear rules and a clear result. Yes, and in general, in the era of wild capitalism, being proud is a very expensive pleasure. Such is life, both students and pensioners say.

The third group of answers, frankly speaking, pleased me. Despite the fact that there is a clear majority of traditionalists and pragmatists, there are still 20% of uncompromising people who value their dignity and their convictions. Maybe there is no need for such independent proud people anymore? But when you think about the fact that only for 20% it is important not to lose your personal dignity and remain honest with yourself, it becomes somehow sad and sad. Thoughts immediately come to mind about the ineradicability of servility, mass theft and lies, hypocrisy, widespread corruption, which turn out to be not shameful and morally acceptable means of survival for many.

What is the result? The answers show that pride is a flexible concept, wherever you want, you can stretch it there. Probably, many would like it that way, but the great Russian language and not only it give a clear definition of pride, and you can’t get away from this definite, stable meaning, you can’t evade it. This meaning is enshrined in the concept and has a universal meaning: “Pride is a sense of self-worth, self-respect; a positive feeling of self-satisfaction.

Of course, we can, in defiance of everyone and everything, talk about our Russian pride, which is different from others, or about our personal, subjective understanding of it, but if this clearly contradicts the stable and positive meaning of pride, then we will simply leave the universal space of reasonable meanings and values, and other people will no longer understand us, and they will not want to communicate with us. And if we persist in our opposition to everyone, then it will be nothing more than "pride", i.e. that excessive and unjustified pride, which we ourselves must condemn.

The task of philosophy is to vigilantly preserve universal human meanings, and not allow them to be “stretched” beyond recognition. Therefore, it is important to prevent arbitrary abuses in the broad and opportunistic interpretation of key moral and practical concepts, because the motives of human actions and life decisions themselves depend on their meanings. in the end, then - whether we will all be fine or not.

Regardless of whether a person is a believer or not, none of the vices will lead him to anything good. Along with envy, anger and greed is pride. Many confuse this concept with pride, believing that there are no differences between them. Let's try to figure out how and how these two words differ, is there a big difference. First of all, let's find out what pride is, how it can be characterized.

Word interpretation

According to explanatory dictionaries, pride can be defined as:

1. Feeling of satisfaction from any action.
2. arrogance, arrogance.

As you can see, on the one hand, this is a positive feeling that a person experiences in relation to himself and others. On the other hand, this concept is negative, since a proud person elevates himself, thus belittling other people. So what is pride? Is it good or bad? And is it even possible to call this feeling good or bad? It all depends on what underlies the concept under consideration. If this is a person's talent, his diligence and success, then a sense of pride is well deserved. It brings joy both to the person himself and to those around him. However, it often happens that the said feeling is experienced without any reason. For example, beautiful girls often exalt themselves and humiliate those who are less fortunate in this respect. Naturally given qualities should not cause such a feeling as pride. The meaning of the word in this case will be negative.

Different understanding of one word

The same concept in different times can have both positive and negative meanings. A prime example of this is national pride. In most cases, this feeling is welcome. It is understood as the love and attachment of a person to his country, the readiness to defend and defend common interests. However, history can also give quite tragic examples of the use of this concept: Germany in the 30s and 40s (the idea of ​​the superiority of the “higher nation”), the British Empire in the 19th century (the idea of ​​the “burden of white man") and so on. What is pride in this case if not a feeling of superiority of representatives of one nation, race over other people? As the sad experience of past generations has shown, it does not bring anything good.

Pride and its Companions

The meaning of the word pride and pride are similar, but they also have significant differences. IN modern society the term "pride" is used extremely rarely. It is replaced by terms close in meaning: arrogance, ambition, arrogance, vanity, selfishness. Thus, we see that there is nothing positive in the meaning of this word. Unlike pride, it has only a negative connotation. Among the qualities inherent in pride, one can note: hypocrisy, vanity, capriciousness, stubbornness and arrogance. As well as suspiciousness, uncontrollability, fussiness, pickiness, selfishness and insolence. In addition, a person subject to this mortal sin is characterized by touchiness, irascibility, lust for power, a tendency to sharp criticism, envy and vindictiveness. You can also name such negative traits as intransigence and cruelty, causticity, rejection of generally accepted norms and authorities.

What is pride and what is pride?

These two concepts can have opposite meanings. And at the same time be equally negative. To understand, you need to know what caused certain feelings and aspirations:

• pride, arrogance - all this suggests that a person is eager to gain power and despises people who have a lower
• Ambition and ambition are signs that a person is striving to achieve more, to move up the career ladder.
• Audacity, arrogance, impudence, selfishness and arrogance testify to a person’s readiness to achieve their interests at any cost, against others.