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Hubris
Hubris
Hubris
Hubris (also hybris; pronounced /hjubrs/) means extreme haughtiness or arrogance. Hubris often indicates being out of touch with reality and overestimating one's own competence or capabilities, especially for people in positions of power. Hubris appears in the terms "act of hubris," and "hubristic."
Hubris Poseidon already bore Odysseus a grudge for not giving him a sacrifice when Poseidon prevented the Greeks from being discovered inside the Trojan Horse. Specifically, Odysseus' telling Polyphemos his true name after having already escaped was an act of hubris. Hubris against the gods is often attributed as a character flaw of the heroes in Greek tragedy, and the cause of the "nemesis", or destruction, which befalls these characters. However, this represents only a small proportion of occurrences of hubris in Greek literature, and for the most part hubris refers to infractions by mortals against other mortals. Therefore, it is now generally agreed that the Greeks did not generally think of hubris as a religious matter, still less that it was normally punished by the gods. Herodotus made it clear in a passage [6] ,
Seest thou how God with his lightning smites always the bigger animals, and will not suffer them to wax insolent, while those of a lesser bulk chafe him not? How likewise his bolts fall ever on the highest houses and the tallest trees? So plainly does He love to bring down everything that exalts itself. Thus ofttimes a mighty host is discomfited by a few men, when God in his jealousy sends fear or storm from heaven, and they perish in a way unworthy of them. For God allows no one to have high thoughts but Himself.
Aristotle defined hubris as shaming the victim, not because anything happened to you or might happen to you, but merely for your own gratification. Hubris is not the requital of past injuriesthat's revenge. As for the pleasure in hubris, its cause is this: men think that by ill-treating others they make their own superiority the greater. Crucial to this definition are the ancient Greek concepts of honor (, tim) and shame (, aids). The concept of included not only the exaltation of the one receiving honor, but also the shaming of the one overcome by the act of hubris. This concept of honor is akin to a zero-sum game. Rush Rehm simplifies this definition to the contemporary concept of "insolence, contempt, and excessive violence".
Modern times
In its modern usage, hubris denotes overconfident pride and arrogance; it is often associated with a lack of humility, not always with the lack of knowledge. An accusation of hubris often implies that suffering or punishment will follow, similar to the occasional pairing of hubris and nemesis in the Greek world. The proverb "pride goes before a fall" is thought to sum up the modern definition of hubris. It is also referred to as "pride that blinds", as it often causes someone accused of hubris to act in foolish ways that belie common sense. Victor in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein manifests hubris in his attempt to become a great scientist by creating life, but eventually regrets this previous desire. More recently, in his two-volume biography of Adolf Hitler, historian Ian Kershaw uses both 'hubris' and 'nemesis' as titles. The first volume, 'Hubris'[7] , describes Hitler's early life and rise to power. The second, 'Nemesis' [8] , gives details of Hitler's role in the Second World War, and concludes with his fall and suicide in 1945.
See also
Groupthink Narcissism Nemesis Victory disease Self love
Hubris
References
Cairns, Douglas L. "Hybris, Dishonour, and Thinking Big." Journal of Hellenic Studies 116 (1996) 1-32. Fisher, Nick (1992). Hybris: a study in the values of honour and shame in Ancient Greece. Warminster, UK: Aris & Phillips. A book-length discussion of the meaning and implications of hybristic behavior in ancient Greece. MacDowell, Douglas. "Hybris in Athens." Greece and Rome 23 (1976) 14-31. Owen, David (2007) The Hubris Syndrome: Bush, Blair and the[[Category:Narcissism [9]]
References
[1] David Cohen, "Law, society and homosexuality or hermaphrodity in Classical Athens" in Studies in ancient Greek and Roman society By Robin Osborne; p64 [2] David Cohen, "Sexuality, Violence, and the Athenian Law of 'Hubris'"; Greece and Rome, Second Series, V.38;#2; Oct. 1991pp.171-188 [3] "Using a free male (adult or minor) in a passive role for certain kinds of sexual services (particularly oral or anal sexual intercourse) constitutes hubris." Law, violence, and community in classical Athens By David J. Cohen; p160 [4] "In fact, numerous passages from Greek orators indicate that using a male in a passive sexual role dishonors him and thus qualifies as hubris." David Cohen, "Law, society and homosexuality in Classical Athens" in Studies in ancient Greek and Roman society By Robin Osborne; p65 [5] Aeschines "Against Timarchus" from Thomas K. Hubbard's Homosexuality in Greece and Rome: A Sourcebook of Basic Documents [6] History of Herodotus, VII, 10, translated by George Rawlinson (1910) History of Herodotus. [7] Kershaw, I (1998). Hitler 18891936: Hubris, London, W. W. Norton & Company [8] Kershaw, I (2000). Hitler 19361945: Nemesis, London, W. W. Norton & Company [9] http:/ / www. politicospublishing. co. uk/ titles. php/ itemcode/ 178
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