Jessica Tracey: The Power Of Pride

When one thinks of pride, one would rarely think of a modest person who devotes much of their time to volunteering and philanthropy. Typically, one would think of an arrogant politician or movie star, someone so self-absorbed that they almost entirely ignore the needs of those around them. However, even the humblest acts of virtue can arise from pride as well. Time and time again we hear the story of Icarus, the boy who became entranced with his own pride and flew too close to the sun. However, there is another story of pride we hear less often, the person who takes pride in their own humility. Rather than take pride in typical things such as wealth, prestige, or even appearance, these people take pride in their modesty and virtue. In this

way, pride comes about in an unexpected way and becomes “difficult to avoid since it takes occasion even from good deeds” (Aquinas). While the other six deadly sins present both good and bad characteristics of the sin, pride is complex in corrupting even the most well-intentioned actions.
At first, it would seem that humility would be the opposite of pride since it is defined as, “having a lowly opinion of oneself” (oxford). However, there are also occasions in which a person corrupts the virtue by using it to enhance their image and see it as an example of their own excellence. For example, although many of those volunteering at the soup kitchen want to help their community or provide to those less fortunate, there are some who see it as an opportunity to gain respect at the church or receive compliments on their kind heart. In this way, a volunteer would be contributing towards their “inordinate love of [their] own excellence” (Aquinas). Therefore, this person would not only be guilty of pride, but would also be corrupting the virtue itself by using it to feed their own ego rather than for the sake of good and love of mankind. Indeed, Aquinas believes that any virtuous act that is fulfilled in this way completely destroys and devalues the virtue itself, saying, “a sin destroys a virtue by making ill use of that virtue: and thus pride destroys every virtue, in so far as it finds an occasion of pride in every virtue” (Aquinas).
Although this story is heard much less than the hubristic stories similar to Icarus’s, there are many examples of this pride in humility, or a pride disguised as humility, as well. For example, in the 90’s animated show Daria, the title character is an intelligent teenager who takes pride in her intelligence and acts almost stuck-up despite being a social outcast. In one episode, Daria begins wearing contacts in order to help her see while she’s driving and receives many compliments from her classmates about her appearance. However, the contacts irritate her eyes and she decides not to wear them the next day, but she doesn’t wear her glasses either. When she gets to school she cannot see anything and begins running into people in the hallway, misreading the chalkboard, etc. and has to own up to her small case of vanity. The next day she wears her glasses again and tells her friend Jane, “’ I know my glasses set me apart…when I put them on and look in the mirror I think to myself, ‘never mind the glasses, you can see things that other people can’t. You can see better than other people. So to hell with them and what they think of you and your glasses.’” To which her friend replies, “’And you like that Daria better than the Daria who cares about her looks…I don’t blame you. Why settle for vanity when you can have pure egotism?’” As her friend points out, Daria’s battle with pride has little to do with her vanity or desire to fit in; instead, she takes pride in her intelligence and uncompromising morals and believes it makes her better than her classmates. Rather than avoiding vanity in order to remain humble and virtuous, Daria avoids it to feel superior to her peers.
Despite the negative outcomes of pride, there are suggestions that pride can be beneficial as well.

Like the other deadly sins, pride can be both harmful and helpful depending on how it is used. For example, her Scientific American article “Pride and Power,” Jessica Tracey claims that pride can be divided into “hubristic pride,” a love of self that masks insecurity and promotes hostility, and “authentic pride,” a pride that promotes success and love for others. According to Tracy, while pride can be harmful and lead to bullying and dominance, it can also serve as a helpful motivator to achieve one’s goals and lead a good life. Tracy uses Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates as examples, claiming their success came not from greed or the need to improve technology, but by “a need to be the person who did it” (Tracy 1). This virtuous pride can also be seen in Ulysses (or Odysseus) from Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses.” Although the speaker of the poem is certainly guilty of pride and neglects his family to embark on his adventures, there is also a sense of nobility in his desire “to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield” (Tennyson lines). Although all these men are certainly proud, even obnoxiously arrogant, it is also this pride that motivated them to achieve the things they did and better their own lives. This suggests that a virtuous form of pride taken in virtuous things, such as intelligence, innovativeness, and kindness, benefits the individual rather than destroying the value of

the virtue itself. Therefore, a pride in one’s virtues can be seen as something helpful rather than inherently sinful.
Further, a sense of virtuous pride, or self-esteem is also essential to an individual’s wellbeing and a lack of it can lead to sin as readily as an excess of pride.

Recently, many social concerns have surrounded low self-esteem, especially in adolescents. This low self-esteem can lead to many problems such as bullying, self-harm, and depression. While pride is often seen as the gateway sin in that it leads to all the other six deadly sins, the lack of it can also lead to other sins. For example, while an excess of pride can lead a man to believe he is too good for work and lead him towards slothful behaviors, so can a complete lack of self-esteem cause a man to lose all sense of self-worth and motivation and lead him into despair equal to that of Fuckhead’s in Jesus’ Son. This lack of self-esteem can lead individuals to commit other sins as well. Those with low self-esteem are more likely to be bullies, leading them to wrath; they are also more likely to suffer from eating disorders, leading them to gluttony, and are even more susceptible to envy and greed since they may be envious of those they believe have more reason to feel proud than they do and may try to reinforce their self-worth with items or money. Even lust can be tied to low self-esteem as seen in Susan Minot’s short story “Lust” where the narrator tries to use sex as a form of validation and to enhance her self-worth. In these cases, self-esteem, or what Tracey would call “authentic pride,” is not only

beneficial, but necessary for a person’s wellbeing and survival. While too much pride can certainly be detrimental, it can also be valuable when one takes pride in the right things and uses it for a greater good. However, denying pride to the point of erasing self-esteem and self-worth is not only sinful, but also dangerous.
Pride is often considered the deadliest of the deadly sins not only because it serves as the root of most other sins, but also because it is one of the subtlest sins that can come from unexpected places or express itself in unexpected ways. The pride born from false humility is a prime example for this, for although humility is often regarded as the opposite of pride it can also serve to boost an individual’s ego and contribute to their feelings of superiority. However, the question also exists if this self-love is always a sinful thing, or whether it is an essential part of self-esteem and self-worth. Although Daria can be seen as excessively proud since she believes she is smarter and more virtuous than her classmates, it can also be argued that she needs to feel this way in order to maintain her self-esteem despite her status as an outcast. Ultimately, it seems that pride, like many of the other sins, is a quality that a person should neither succumb to nor completely eradicate. As with gluttony, greed, envy, sloth, lust, and wrath, pride can be both detrimental and valuable, and rather than eradicating it completely, it should be balanced with humility and self-esteem. This makes pride a particularly difficult sin to manage since it must be carefully balanced and can arise from virtuous actions unconsciously; therefore it is important for one to consider both their motives and intentions when helping others to be sure they are acting out of sincerity rather than trying to improve their image.