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How Opposites (Should) Attract: Humility as a Virtue for the Strong
Author(s) -
Klancer Catherine Hudak
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the heythrop journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.127
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1468-2265
pISSN - 0018-1196
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2265.2012.00749.x
Subject(s) - humility , virtue , pride , philosophy , politics , sociology , environmental ethics , theology , epistemology , political science , law
This article first examines pervasive present‐day attitudes toward humility (‘ T he C ontemporary D istaste for H umility’) before turning to T homas A quinas and Z hu X i for their more positive treatments of this disposition (‘ T homas A quinas and Z hu X i on H umility’). It then considers their ideas about how humility is related to our human limitations (‘ H umility G rounded in O ur F inite N ature and K nowledge’), before surveying how they think it should be expressed in our relationships with our neighbours (‘ H umility in C ommunity’). The article looks at what T homas and Z hu have to say about excessive pride in rulers (‘ H umility and A uthority’) before closing in the C onclusion with some thoughts about the viability of humility as a virtue for the strong, and its especial importance in contemporary politics.