Pride is one of Christianity's seven deadly sins and described in Judaism as the root of all evil. In theology, pride is an excessive love of yourself, and a similarly excessive belief in your own superiority. A similar concept was known as hubris by the ancient Greek philosophers. Its opposite is the virtue of humility or modesty, personified in Christianity by Jesus himself.

However, pride is not universally seen as a vice or sin. It can also be defined as an appropriate sense of satisfaction in your own achievements, or those of others close to you. Taking pride in the 'right' things can—and has been—therefore be seen as a virtue. How, though, can you be sure that your pride is appropriate? This page unpicks the concepts a little more to provide some ways to distinguish between the two.

Defining Pride

The dictionary definitions of pride reflect the dual nature of pride: that it can be both reasonable—even good—and unreasonable in its nature.

The word pride is thought to be rooted in the Old English prut. This in turn is probably from the Old French prud, meaning brave or valiant, and has roots in the Latin prodis meaning 'useful'. In the original French, there was no sense of 'having a high opinion of yourself' in the word. This is thought to have entered the definition in England, after the Norman Conquest. Some commentators have speculated that it may reflect the Anglo-Saxons' view about the Norman knights who used this word to describe themselves.

'Good' vs. 'bad' pride

The distinction between 'good' or 'worthy' pride and 'bad' pride has been around for a long time.

It is considered perfectly acceptable—right, even—to take pride in the things that you or others have done well. Both self-esteem and self-confidence are rooted in an appropriate recognition of yourself and your value.

Similarly, it is good to be proud of what others have achieved—to recognise the effort that has been put in, and the reward that has been gained.

Indeed, Aristotle said that proper pride, or megalopsuchia (high-mindedness), was the most important of all the virtues. He said:

"By a high-minded man we seem to mean one who claims much and deserves much: for he who claims much without deserving it is a fool; but the possessor of a virtue is never foolish or silly. The man we have described, then, is high-minded. He who deserves little and claims little is temperate [or modest], but not high-minded: for high-mindedness [or greatness of soul] implies greatness, just as beauty implies stature; small men may be neat and well proportioned, but cannot be called beautiful."

This form of pride is motivating. It spurs us on to achieve more and greater things, and encourages creative thinking and hard work.

The problem comes when pride is not appropriate.

The ancient Greek philosophers had a separate word for this: hubris, defined as excessive pride or dangerous over-confidence. The word hubris actually means 'outrage', and therefore describes behaviours that are outside the normal or natural order of things, or transgressions against the gods.

Because of this sense of outraging the gods, hubris was often followed by a 'fall from grace'. The same idea is seen in both Judaism and Christianity in the Book of Proverbs.

Indeed, many of the world religions see pride as a sin or a vice. Christianity distinguishes between self-affirmation (an appropriate pride) and the sin of pride. In Catholicism, pride is distinguished as thinking more of yourself than you should, and in particular not taking account of the part that God has played in your life.

By contrast, humble people see and are grateful for God, and the gifts that they have been given.

In English, we have other words for this type of hubristic pride: we call it vanity, arrogance or over-confidence. However, we still use the word pride for it too.

The real question for all of us, therefore, is how we can maintain that 'proper pride' or self-worth, and avoid the 'bad pride' of arrogance and hubris.

The key seems to lie in self-esteem.

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Pride and self-esteem

Research on pride and self-esteem has identified that the two concepts are intimately linked—and so are the two forms of pride.

The relationship is simple:

• People with high levels of self-esteem tend to experience high levels of 'good' pride and self-worth. They are motivated to do things that help others, such as volunteering or advising people. They tend to be considered agreeable and are usually popular.

• People with low self-esteem are more likely to experience high levels of arrogance or hubristic pride. They are often seen as manipulative, and may be socially anxious or aggressive. They tend to be more interested in pushing others down than supporting them.

This suggests that pride as an emotion exists to help us to ensure or restore a positive sense of self. 'Good' pride does so in a positive way, helping us to create good feelings about ourselves by supporting and raising others. 'Bad' pride does so in a negative way, at the expense of others.

Research shows that both are effective ways to improve status and achieve success—at least in the short term.

Studies looking at people who showed either 'dominance' (bad pride) or 'prestige' (good pride') found that both were effective at persuading and influencing others. Both were also equally able to improve their social status.

In the longer term, though, low self-esteem is bad for your mental health. 'Bad' pride also tends to damage relationships because people are persuaded through fear—and may choose to remove themselves from the relationship rather than continue with it.

The key to distinguishing between the two on a personal level seems to be to consider how you are using your pride in yourself:

• If you are using it to motivate you to achieve more and better things, this is likely to be good.

• If, however, you find that you like the compliments that go with success far more than the feeling of satisfaction at having succeeded, you may be tipping into the hubristic side of pride.

It seems possible that building up your self-esteem could help to change the type of pride that you are more likely to feel. There is more about how to do this in our page on Improving Self-Esteem.

Pride and Humanity

Pride—both good and bad—is a very human trait.

It is also a very important trait. It motivates and drives us to succeed. It also guides us to help and support others and enable them to succeed. However, it can be taken too far—and both history and literature are full of cautionary tales about the potential results of too much 'bad pride'. We would all do well to take these to heart.

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