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“Humility and Pride as Emotions in the Context of Modernity” at Harvard University – May 7

May 1st, 2014 |  Published in Events, News

Anthony Steinbock will be presenting at Harvard University on May 7. The title of the talk is “Humility and Pride as Emotions in the Context of Modernity,” with the the following description:

Modernity can be credited with many things, among them the recognition of individual subjectivity, the value of freedom, the practice of critique, and the prominent role that rationality plays in them. Modernity also marks the emergence of innovative social imaginaries. What have been sidelined in these social imaginaries are the emotions.

In this paper, I focus on one emotion, humility. I address the foundational character of humility in relation to pride, and approach the question of self-givenness in humility. Citing the difference between being humbled, humbling myself, and modesty, I then distinguish between humiliation, affliction, and humility. I conclude with some reflections on how humility as an emotion in relation to pride offers a unique sense of social relations, and has distinctive implications for interpersonal meanings of freedom, critique, and normativity in Modernity and at our impasse in post-modernity.

The event will be held at Room 133 in the Barker Center at 7:00pm on Wednesday May 7.

For further information, visit the Mahindra Humanities Center.