HUMILITY, Sibin Karuthy

The term "humility" comes from the Latin word humilitas, a noun related to the adjective humilis, which may be translated as "humble", but also as "low", "from the earth", or "humid", since it derives in turns from humus (earth). See the English humus. Because the concept of humility addresses intrinsic self-worth, it is emphasized in the realm of religious practice and ethics where the notion is often made more precise and extensive is the quality of being modest, reverential, even obsequiously submissive, and never being arrogant, contemptuous, rude or even self-aggrandizing. Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue in many religious and philosophical traditions, being connected with notions of transcendent unity with the universe or the divine, and of egolessness. Kant's view of humility has been defined as "that meta-attitude that constitutes the moral agent's proper perspective on himself as a dependent and corrupt but capable and dignified rational agent". Kant's notion of humility is that humility is a virtue, and indeed a central virtue. Mahatma Gandhi is attributed as suggesting that attempting to sustain [truth] without humility is doomed to cause it to become instead an "arrogant caricature" Humility is considered an important virtue in Taoism. The following quote describes how a wise person should see his accomplishments, according to the Tao Te Ching.  "A wise person acts without claiming the results as his; he achieves his merit and does not rest arrogantly in it: he does not wish to display his superiority". While most schools of thought view humility as a virtue, some have been sharply critical of it, seeing it as opposed to individualism, specifically the value and excellence of the individual. Nietzsche views humility as a strategy used by the weak to avoid being destroyed by the strong.  In ''Twilight of the Idols'' he writes: "When stepped on, a worm doubles up. That is clever. In that way he lessens the probability of being stepped on again. In the language of morality:  humility."  Nietzsche argues that the slave morality of Christianity has so infected Western culture that now even the masters view humility as a virtue. His idealized Übermensch would be more apt to roam around unfettered by pretensions of humility, proud of his stature and power, but not reveling idly in it, and certainly not displaying hubris.Recent research suggests that humility is a quality of certain types of leaders. For example, Jim Collins and his colleagues found that a certain type of leader, whom they term "level 5", possesses humility and fierce resolve. Humility is being studied as a trait that can enhance leadership effectiveness. The research suggests that humility is multi-dimensional and includes self-understanding and awareness, openness, and perspective taking.