|
* Pride (vanity) — a desire to be important or attractive to others or excessive love of self.
In Christian dogma, pride (or vanity) is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is listed as one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Pride is also condemned in Hinduism. Ravana, an evil king who was killed by Rama, avatar of Vishnu, exhibited deadly sins of pride and lust.
In English, the term "pride" also has a more positive sense referring to self-respect, a refusal to be humiliated (such as in Lesbian and Gay pride) as well as joy in one's accomplishments. In this sense, "pride" is among the most-quoted themes of political and societal discourse of English-speaking nations, especially of the USA. This stands in some contrast to that nation's general image of itself as a mostly Christian society.
Some languages distinguish between the two senses of pride; in French, self-respect is fierté and vanity is orgueuil.
Arrogance is the act of obtaining rights or advantages, including merely rhetorical advantages, through violence or threats of violence, or through verbal violence. Arrogance is as much an aspect of aggression as it is of pretension, which is unwarranted pride. An arrogant person is not merely unjustifiably confident in their own ability and value, but one actively seeking to cow or belittle other "lesser" people in order to achieve their ends.
|
Several of these sins interlink, and various attempts at causal hierarchy have been made. For example, pride (love of self out of proportion) is implied in gluttony (the over-consumption or waste of food), as well as sloth, envy, and most of the others. Each sin is an attenuation of the central Christian sin of failing to love God with all resources and to love fellows as much as self. The Scholastic theologians developed schema of attribute and substance of will to explain these sins.