Those Who Exalt Themselves The Pride Of Hektor Essay

Those Who Exalt Themselves: The Pride of Hektor I. Introduction While pride is a vice that is often frowned upon in modern cultures, it occupied a vastly different place in ancient Greek culture. Indeed, it was often inextricably tied to their concept of glory and heroism. Be as that may, Homer, in The Iliad of Homer, despite it being one of the most well-known pieces of ancient Greek literature, portrays pride in a more negative light than was the norm of his time. Pride in the Iliad most often causes much destruction and ends up being the downfall of many key characters, including Achilleus and Agamemnon. When the pride of Agamemnon is such that he misappropriates one of Achilleus’s war-won concubines, which ignites Achilleus’s pride to the point of refusing to fight in the war, they nearly singlehandedly hand over the victory to the Trojans. Given that these two eventually reconcile, however much they personify pride, it is Hektor whose hubris ultimately brings about his downfall. Homer uses Hektor’s storyline to exemplify the dangers of excessive pride and warn against allowing it to govern your actions. In his pursuit of pride and glory, Hektor shames himself by bringing about the deaths of his men and is killed after realizing his mistakes and seeking to restore his honor. It is only when Priam abandons his pride and humbles himself that Hektor’s storyline is resolved. II. Opposition Greek culture heavily stressed the importance of material goods as a status symbol. In

What Is Self-Concept in Psychology

Self-concept is our personal knowledge of who we are, encompassing all of our thoughts and feelings about ourselves physically, personally, and socially. Self-concept also includes our knowledge of how we behave, our capabilities, and our individual characteristics. Our self-concept develops most rapidly during early childhood and adolescence, but self-concept continues to form and change over time as we learn more about ourselves. Key Takeaways Self-concept is an individuals knowledge of who he or she is.According to Carl Rogers, self-concept has three components: self-image, self-esteem, and the ideal self.Self-concept is active, dynamic, and malleable. It can be influenced by social situations and even ones own motivation for seeking self-knowledge. Defining Self-Concept Social psychologist Roy Baumeister says that self-concept should be understood as a knowledge structure. People pay attention to themselves, noticing both their internal states and responses and their external behavior. Through such self-awareness, people collect information about themselves. Self-concept is built from this information and continues to develop as people expand their ideas about who they are. Early research on self-concept suffered from the idea that self-concept is a single, stable, unitary conception of the self. More recently, however, scholars have recognized it as a dynamic, active structure that is impacted by both the individual’s motivations and the social situation.    Carl Rogers’ Components of Self-Concept Carl Rogers, one of the founders of humanistic psychology, suggested that self-concept includes three components: Self-Image Self image is the way we see ourselves. Self-image includes what we know about ourselves physically (e.g. brown hair, blue eyes, tall), our social roles (e.g. wife, brother, gardener), and our personality traits (e.g. outgoing, serious, kind). Self-image doesn’t always match reality. Some individuals hold an inflated perception of one or more of their characteristics. These inflated perceptions may be positive or negative, and an individual may have a more positive view of certain aspects of the self and a more negative view of others. Self-Esteem Self-esteem is the value we place upon ourselves. Individual levels of self-esteem are dependent on the way we evaluate ourselves. Those evaluations incorporate our personal comparisons to others as well as others’ responses to us. When we compare ourselves to others and find that we are better at something than others and/or that people respond favorably to what we do, our self-esteem in that area grows. On the other hand, when we compare ourselves to others and find we’re not as successful in a given area and/or people respond negatively to what we do, our self-esteem decreases. We can have high self-esteem in some areas (I am a good student) while simultaneously having negative self-esteem in others (I am not well-liked). Ideal Self The ideal self is the self we would like to be. There’s often a difference between one’s self-image and ones ideal self. This incongruity can negatively impact one’s self-esteem. According to Carl Rogers, self-image and ideal self can be congruent or incongruent. Congruence between the self-image and ideal self means that there is a fair amount of overlap between the two. While it is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve perfect congruence, greater congruence will enable self-actualization. Incongruence between the self-image and ideal self means there’s a discrepancy between one’s self and one’s experiences, leading to internal confusion (or cognitive dissonance) that prevents self-actualization. Development of Self-Concept Self-concept begins to develop in early childhood. This process continues throughout the lifespan. However, it is between early childhood and adolescence that self-concept experiences the most growth. By age 2, children begin to differentiate themselves from others. By the ages of 3 and 4, children understand that they are separate and unique selves. At this stage, a childs self-image is largely descriptive, based mostly on physical characteristics or concrete details. Yet, children increasingly pay attention to their capabilities, and by about 6 years old, children can communicate what they want and need. They are also starting to define themselves in terms of social groups.   Between the ages of 7 and 11, children begin to make social comparisons and consider how they’re perceived by others. At this stage, children’s descriptions of themselves become more abstract. They begin to describe themselves in terms of abilities and not just concrete details, and they realize that their characteristics exist on a continuum. For example, a child at this stage will begin to see himself as more athletic than some and less athletic than others, rather than simply athletic or not athletic. At this point, the ideal self and self-image start to develop. Adolescence is a key period for self-concept. The self-concept established during adolescence is usually the basis for the self-concept for the remainder of one’s life. During the adolescent years, people experiment with different roles, personas, and selves. For adolescents, self-concept is influenced by success in areas they value and the responses of others valued to them. Success and approval can contribute to greater self-esteem and a stronger self-concept into adulthood. The Diverse Self-Concept We all hold numerous, varied ideas about ourselves. Some of those ideas may only be loosely related, and some may even be contradictory. These contradictions dont create a problem for us, however, because we’re conscious of only some of our self-knowledge at any given point in time.   Self-concept is made up of multiple self-schemas: individual concepts of a particular aspect of the self. The idea of self-schema is useful when considering self-concept because it explains how we can have a specific, well-rounded self-schema about one aspect of the self while lacking an idea about another aspect. For example, one person may see herself as organized and conscientious, a second person may see himself as disorganized and scatter-brained, and a third person may have no opinion about whether she is organized or disorganized.   Cognitive and Motivational Roots The development of self-schema and the larger self-concept has cognitive and motivational roots. We tend to process information about the self more thoroughly than information about other things. At the same time, according to self-perception theory, self-knowledge is acquired in much the same way as we acquire knowledge about others: we observe our behaviors and draw conclusions about who we are from what we notice. While people are motivated to seek out this self-knowledge, they are selective in the information to which they pay attention. Social psychologists have found three motivations for seeking self-knowledge: To discover the truth about the self, regardless of what is found.To discern favorable, self-enhancing information about the self.To confirm whatever one already believes about the self. Malleable Self-Concept Our ability to call up certain self-schemas while ignoring others makes our self-concepts malleable. In a given moment, our self-concept is dependent on the social situations in which we find ourselves and the feedback we receive from the environment. In some cases, this malleability means that certain parts of the self will be especially salient. For example, a 14-year-old may become especially aware of her youth when she is with a group of elderly people. If the same 14-year-old was in a group of other young people, she would be much less likely to think about her age. Self-concept can be manipulated by asking people to recall times when they behaved in a certain way. If asked to recall times when they worked hard, individuals are generally able to do so; if asked to recall times wen they were lazy, individuals are also generally able to do so. Many people can remember instances of both of these opposing characteristics, but individuals will generally perceive herself as one or the other (and act in accordance with that perception) depending on which one is brought to mind. In this way, self-concept can be altered and adjusted. Sources Ackerman, Courtney. What is Self-Concept Theory in Psychology? Definition Examples. Positive Psychology Program, 7 June 2018. https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/self-concept/Baumeister, Roy F. â€Å"Self and Identity: A Brief Overview of What They Are, What They Do, and How They Work.† Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 1234, no. 1, 2011, pp. 48-55, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06224.xBaumeister, Roy F. â€Å"The Self.† Advanced Social Psychology: The State of the Science, edited by Roy F. Baumeister and Eli J. Finkel, Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 139-175.Cherry, Kendra. â€Å"What is Self-Concept and How Does It Form?† Verywell Mind, 23 May 2018. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-concept-2795865Markus, Hazel, and Elissa Wurf. â€Å"The Dynamic Self-Concept: A Social Psychological Perspective.† Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 38, no. 1, 1987, pp. 299-337, http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ps.38.020187.001503McL eod, Saul. â€Å"Self Concept.† Simply Psychology, 2008. https://www.simplypsychology.org/self-concept.htmlRogers, Carl R. â€Å"A Theory of Therapy, Personality, and Interpersonal Relationships as Developed in The Client-Centered Framework.† Psychology: A Story of a Science, Vol. 3, edited by Sigmund Koch, McGraw-Hill, 1959, pp. 184-256.

Lysistrat A Political Satire Written By Aristophanes

Lysistrata was a political satire written by Aristophanes in early 400 B.C.E., and was performed in Athens. The connection between Lysistrata and the society and culture surrounding it is deeply significant. Due to the immense cultural pressure in this period, it’s difficult to pinpoint a singular theme that Aristophanes was trying to make a comment on. With the Peloponnesian War continuing to lead a seemingly endless reign of chaos over Greece and its citizens, these elements of fear and despair became very relevant in the plays of the time, most notably being Aristophanes’ Lysistrata. Within such satires, it became commonplace to see women being used as satirical devices to call attention to the craziness that had consumed society. It also contributed to the idea of women having a social or political power and, more importantly, having worth and a voice. Although it is impossible to know exactly which social aspects Aristophanes was trying to comment on, through histo rical documents and contexts, it is clear that statements were made condemning war through the satirical use of subverting gender norms to reinforce the foolishness in society and fighting. The fighting and devastation that influenced Aristophanes was the result of the Peloponnesian War. The war had been reigning terror and sorrow from about 431 to 404 B.C.E. across the Greek nation (â€Å"The Peloponnesian War†). It was fought between Sparta and Athens, however, each of these cities served as the head of

Compare Contrast free essay sample

Tamim ENC 1101 Ebbinghouse M/W 11am-12:15pm Compare Essay 02/27/2012 A Journey Towards Discovery Throughout history human beings have had an insatiable desire to venture into uncharted territories and discover the unknown. There are countless examples of historic and modern figures and their quest toward knowledge of the unseen. Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong were two of the greatest figures in history that paved the way toward discovering new territories that had not been so vastly known by men before. They were both scientific explorers and supporters of knowledge and discovery. Their contributions in the fields of scientific discovery is widely known and considered to be a mile stone for new generations. They were both explorers, travelled great distances and were the first of their generation to discover a new place that was not well known to man. Although they were from different time and their journeys involved different means of travel and their quests were the same, discovering new places. Neil Armstrong, as a young man was interested in planes and later on became a pilot for the Air force. He traveled to many places around the world, as Columbus did in his early life. Armstrong was backed and funded by NASA, where they trained him extensively for what was to come in space. Columbus was also funded by the government, but was not trained, he used his skills he learned throughout his life. Columbus had the goal of a better trade route to Asia for better business which meant more profits and more money. Armstrong and his crew had the goal of national prestige for America. Armstrong had two trips to space, not knowing what it would be like or what he would find, but Columbus had four journeys across the Atlantic. The Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria were the ships used for Columbuss voyage across the Atlantic. Columbus himself sailed on the Santa Maria which was the largest of the three. The Nina and Pinta were smaler but much faster than the Santa Maria. They carried about one hundred and twenty men, loaded with equipment and supllies, and armed for batle. Columbus wanted to find a new passage to Asia from Spain, but ended up on and island they named San Salvador, in the Bahamas. Apollo 11 was the space flight that Neil Armstrong  comanded that would land the first humans on the moon. They carried equipment and supplies to help them with thier journey, but unlike Columbuss ships, Apollo 11 was not armed for battle, and only carried three men, instead of onehundred and twenty men. The Spaceship was fueld by rocket boosters, where Columbuss ships used wind in the ships sales to move the ship. Neil Armstrong, along with America was in a competition to beat the Soviet Union to space and be the first humans on the moon. He risked his life on a four day trip to be the first man on the moon, and bring pride to his country. He risked having his spacecraft malfunction, lossing communication with earth, and running out of fuel, resulting in a mission falure. But he had new technologies to help the mission go smother such as new compouter software, freeze dried food, and new spacesuits. Christopher Columbus was in a race against other European countries and Portugal to find a new traiding route to Asia that took a total of about thirty seven days to even see land. Columbus risked the lives of his crew and himslef on rough sea waters, and enemeys attacking his ships. He also took the risk of bringing back nothing to show for his voyage such as riches or an amazing discovery. To help with Columbuss journey, he had new ships that were made specificly for him that combined sqaure european sails with Arab triangle sails. He also had new intruments that would help with dtermining latitude at sea. But unlike Armstrong, Columbus had no map and was unaware of where he was going. Armstrong coud look up in the night sky and see where he was going. Both Armstong and Columbus had very long and dangerous journeys were they risked their lives to better their countries, and no one had ever attempted to do what they did. Columbus dreamed of a round earth but could never actualy see it, Armstrong got to see the round earth with an amazing view from the moon. During the time of Columbus, exploration was a very dangerous bussiness. Disease, war, and the unknowing of what to expect were factors that made exploring very dangerous. Crews had little to no education, paid poorly, and could take no credit for any discovories that were made. Armstong and his crew were heavily educated unlike columbuss crew, and were ready for a very  dangerous mission as colombus was for his mission across the Atlantic. Although Armstrong was captain of Apollo 11, his crew had an equal part in the moon landing, they were a team, and all were honord with credit for the moon landing. Columbus took the credit for discovoring the new world, but his crew did all of the work to get him to the new world. Without Colombus accidentily discoving the new world, Niel Armstrong may not of been the first man on the moon. Both these men were risk takers, but also very influential explorers who risked thier lives to go into the unknown and seek fame. One was a captian and team player with a crew of three, and the other was captian of one hundred and twenty men who worked as a solo explorer. These explorations of Neil Armstrong and Christopher Columbus help change and shape the world we live in today.