The Relations of Pride [Ego] and Humility [Shame] to the Self
Table of Contents
My principles are based on experience.
The causes of pride [ego] and humility [shame] concur to produce pain and pleasure, independent of pride and humility [shame].
- Our beauty gives us pleasure and pride [ego].
- Our ugliness gives us pain and humility [shame].
- A magnificent feast delights us.
- A sordid one displeases us.
Thus, every cause of:
- pride produces a separate pleasure
- humility produces a separate uneasiness
Thus, virtue and vice are the good and bad qualities of our actions and manners.
- These determine our personal character
Likewise, the beauty or ugliness of our face, house, equipage, or furniture renders us vain or humble.
We do not become vain or humble when the same qualities are transferred to others which are unrelated to us.
The causes of pride [ego] and humility [shame] have 2 properties. The things that create pride [ego] and humility [shame]:
- produce a separate pain or pleasure
- are related to the self
The are the 2 properties of pride and humility.
Pride [ego] and humility [shame]:
- comes from a natural, inherent instinct
- never looks beyond the self
We can never lose sight of ourself.
The trigger for pride or humility is the pleasurable feeling.
- That feeling is related to the sensation of pride or humility.