Know Thy Selfie

Concepts

Pride, Vanity, Self- esteem, Narcissism

Summary

In this article, Blackburn talks about how in societies, sometimes people can show narcissism, pride, and vanity which effect the way we live. And that when we do things that inhibit those tendencies, then it raises ones self- esteem, but not it good ways.

Quotations

“ We might talk about the ‘me’ generation, the addiction to selfies, or the overbearing politician in any of these terms. But this ignores their important differences, and threatens to flatten out all the interesting contours of the landscape of the self.”

“We are mirrors to each other. We are easily wounded by finding that, in the gaze of other people, we are not quite as we would like to be.”

Commentary

What Blackburn is talking about/ touching on, and what this passage is about, is how Humans are, by some extent, vain, prideful, and narcissistic. We have tendencies to try a be the best and to show off how good we are through the power of social media and through selfies.

In the article it is says for pride, “pride — the root of all evil, according to the Christian tradition — is not so often praised, unless the pride we take is in other people. Yet there is such a thing as proper pride: the pleasure one might legitimately take in having done something good, or having succeeded in some difficult enterprise, or in having at least some of the qualities that one admires and respects in other people.” We exhibit pride when we want to feel as if what we are doing is morally good or what kind of praise we think we deserve. At its best, it ensures that we aim to do things well, in ways that deserve the respect of others. Pride is offensive only when it tips into an elevation of one’s self above others, and a corresponding contempt for them: arrogance, in short.

The article also mentions Vanity and how it can be harmful to who we are has people because we craze attention so badly. “ But where does vanity fit in? The proud person might take pleasure in having done something that deserves to be admired, but to the vain person the admiration itself becomes the goal. Vanity is greedy for the admiration of others, regardless of whether the admiration is deserved: the vain person enjoys being flattered, even if the flattery is hollow.” I think, expressly now, people are so vain because they will do anything for attention and once they have it, its like being addicted to a drug. This then leads us into be narcissistic and having the attitude of “we’re the best!” and what we do is so amazing and praise worthy. For example, Donald Trump would be good to use. He is so prideful, vain, and narcissistic that he just comes off looking great to some and horrible to others. People can either see it as a strength or a weakness but most of the time it comes off that you might be a not so convincing or trustworthy person.

At the end of the day, I think that people act like this because they want so validation from others and, also in some way validation for themselves. It just goes to show that everyone can exhibit vain, prideful, or narcissistic tendencies, but some might show it a little more than others. So really we just need to not take ourselves too serious and take fewer selfies.

Question

Which of these syndromes is most prominent in the modern world, and which is the most regrettable?