Translated material
Michael Epstein. Dar slova. Issue 2
The gift of words. Issue 2
Projective lexicon of the Russian language
Michael Epstein
Publication date: November 11, 2002
self-righteous or self-righteous (-th, -oe) - one who considers himself always and in everything right; confident in his own rightness, impervious to other people’s points of view, convinced of something once and for all.
self-righteous or self-righteous (noun, male), self-righteous or self-righteous (noun, female) - he or she who is unshakably confident in his own rightness shows self-righteousness .
Projective lexicon of the Russian language
Michael Epstein
Publication date: November 11, 2002
self-righteousness and self-righteousness
There is one moral and psychological quality that occupies a large place in Russian history and culture, but for which there is still no precise designation in the language. The English word self-righteous is usually translated as "hypocritical, pharisaical, sanctimonious, self-righteous." However, none of these words conveys the exact meaning of self-righteous: literally - “self-righteous”, “self-right” or “ self-right ”, i.e. confident in his rightness, righteousness, infallibility. Perhaps the strong development of this quality in an authoritarian society is precisely what prevents the emergence of an appropriate concept and word that would allow it to be recognized and critically assessed.
To fill this gap, we propose the word “ self-righteousness ”, formed according to the same model (with the suffix -иj-) as “willfulness”, “willfulness”, “self-interest”.
self-righteousness - unchanging and unshakable confidence in one’s rightness; obsession and blindness to being right.
Here are some literary examples of the manifestation of this quality.
In the epilogue of the novel “ Crime and Punishment ,” Raskolnikov dreams of self-righteous people of the future who will exterminate each other and all living things in the name of the royal “I am the truth.”
“...Never, never have people considered themselves as smart and unshakable in the truth as the infected believed... Everyone was in anxiety and did not understand each other, everyone thought that the truth lay in him alone...” F M. Dostoevsky.
Obsession with being right is the most contagious virus over which medicine has no control. Self-righteousness in its extreme forms is difficult to distinguish from madness. Self-righteousness is the highest point at which the mind freezes when it is unable to correct or correct itself.
Self-righteousness can be combined with any ideological position, from nihilism to liberalism. Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich in Turgenev’s “ Fathers and Sons ,” despite all the contrast of their beliefs, are both firm self-righteous . In this they are more similar to each other than to Arkady and Nikolai Petrovich, who are ready to admit the truth of a different age and worldview.
speaks about self-righteousness as moral deadness B. Pasternak in the novel “Doctor Zhivago”: ” “I don’t like those who are right, who have not fallen, who have not stumbled. The beauty of life was not revealed to them .
It is important for any culture to have the concept of self-righteousness in its vocabulary, since it prevents the identification of truth and rightness. A self-righteous person, obsessed with his own rightness, becomes blind to the truth. A culture devoid of this concept becomes insensitive to fanaticism and dogmatism.
Examples of use:
Self-righteousness is the general name for the moral illnesses and historical temptations of our era. Communism, fascism, fundamentalism and radicalism of various religious and atheistic shades are all varieties of self-righteousness .
In Gogol's letters, traits of self-righteousness and even self-righteousness are visible : although the author is not averse to reproaching himself and repenting, in this too he raises himself above his interlocutors, teaches them repentance, and sets an example of humility.
The fact that parents are prone to self-righteousness is experienced by the child as the main injustice. Why are they always right? Just because they are older?
self-righteous or self-righteous (-th, -oe) - one who considers himself always and in everything right; confident in his own rightness, impervious to other people’s points of view, convinced of something once and for all.
To more clearly define this concept, it should be distinguished in the following series: self-righteous , self-righteous, proud, arrogant, arrogant.
A self-righteous person is not necessarily self-satisfied: he may blame himself for a lack of firmness, skill, social connections or technical skills, he may even experience remorse, but at the same time he is always confident in the infallible correctness of his principles, in his ideological or moral superiority over others.
A self-righteous person is not necessarily proud, arrogant, or arrogant. A proud person exalts himself over others, while a self-righteous person can be quietly and even humbly confident in his rightness. On the other hand, a proud person is not always self-righteous : he can admit that he is wrong, have doubts - and yet be proud even of his mistakes and vices, of his wrongness, while a self-righteous person knows for sure that he lives in truth and is always right.
A striking example of self-righteousness is Vladimir Lenin . One can hardly call him proud, arrogant, arrogant: he was simple, courteous, businesslike in dealing with people, he did not value his personality highly, but those ideas and principles to which he sacrificed friends, classes, Russia, the whole world.
At the same time, self-righteousness cannot be identified with fanaticism , which usually develops on the basis of religion or quasi-religious ideology, mass cult. A fanatic surrenders himself to the power of some higher idea, serves the idols of faith, power, glory, success, while self-righteousness is, first of all, an assertion of one’s own rightness. Self-righteousness can be combined with fanaticism, as in the case of V. Lenin, but it can also manifest itself in conservatism, pedantry, purism, caution, and rejection of any extreme ideas. Self-righteousness is a character trait that can manifest itself in both large and small things, from philosophical and political beliefs to everyday habits, cooking style, etc.
Examples of use:
Beware of the indifferent and self-righteous . For the former there is no truth, for the latter there is nothing but it. For some, the truth is nowhere; for others - in yourself.
An honest person tries to do what he thinks is right; the self-righteous considers what he does to be right.
self-righteous or self-righteous (noun, male), self-righteous or self-righteous (noun, female) - he or she who is unshakably confident in his own rightness shows self-righteousness .
What a society! in power There are only tyrants and self-righteous people . Everyone has their own nonsense and their own truth, and the main thing is that they do not distinguish nonsense from the truth and stand for nonsense as for the truth.
A self-righteous person , like a truth-seeker, is a selfless person. The difference is that one is looking for the truth, and the other has already found it. It is not out of selfishness or self-interest that he insists on a certain way of thinking and acting, but because he considers them the only correct ones.
Marfa is a rightful housewife: she knows exactly which oilcloth to set the table with and which rag to wipe it with. Try to take another rag - he will fix it right away, and even kindly explain the mistake. It is not surprising that about such a sweet self-righteous woman , and then on the run. all the men are at first crazy