[ExI] Humility

[Anders Sandberg]

On 2016-03-30 13:32, Ben wrote:
> Many people will then jump to the opposite extreme, and object that 
> without humility, people automatically become hubristic. Not so. 
> Again, another false concept that's handy for keeping people under 
> control. Humility and Hubris are extremes on a scale. Most people can 
> happily and beneficially exist in the middle. 

Very Aristotelian. It is a virtue to have a balanced self-model, being 
aware of one's limitations and potential insofar they can be known.

Self-esteem should be tied to how well one is actually doing; inflated 
self-esteem is linked to a lot of maladaptive ego-defense mechanisms, 
while too low self-esteem of course prevents one from doing things that 
woulkd help one grow. But it is hard to tell from the inside: this is 
where objective evaluations and frank (but supportive) friends are 
invaluable.

-- 
Anders Sandberg
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford Martin School
Oxford University