Radical Christian Humility

Abstract

After clarifying how central proper pride is to a low concern account of humility, this chapter elucidates the sense in which pride and humility are “concerned” with the self. “Self”-language is sprawling and imprecise, so a significant portion of the chapter is spent clarifying different senses of “self” that are relevant to the question of whether or not humility requires “unselfing.” The chapter argues that pride and humility are specifically about an orientation toward an ego ideal, which is a self-representation focused specifically on one’s distinctive importance over and against others. The chapter then offers an account of radical Christian humility that proscribes proper pride, including any concern one might have with one’s own distinctive importance. The chapter concludes by showing that the account, which is dubbed a no concern account, need not bring with it any of the so-called vices of humility.