Magnanimity

Today, while I was reading, I came across with this word called "Magnanimity". The Collins dictionary defines magnanimous as "noble and generous" and so do many others. But the interesting bit is how the Greek philosopher Aristotle defined it.

Literatures show that in ancient Greece, people embraced the notion of both behaving well and treating others equally or rather being fare/justice (even though the term fair/justice may have been interpreted differently). This concerned with individual's behaviour and how the individual was perceived by others. Aristotle described 10 moral virtues that can be used to weigh an individual's behaviours. Each of these virtues i.e., moral excellences, has two extreme ends. According to Aristotle to be successful in any ethical situation I.e., behaving well and being fare, individual needs to be in a somewhat middle ground (I see some links to philosophy of Buddhism).

In terms of how individuals view themselves, the middle ground or what is ethical, acceptable and, balanced is "magnanimity". This means "Being able to feel and display personal pride when it is deserved, but without vanity". The two extreme ends are "meekness" and "vanity". The modern day word for magnanimity is pride. I don't actually see anything wrong with being proud of yourself, provided that you actually have something to be proud of. It may not necessarily be wealth or status which some people are so obsessed with. But it can be because of your achievements (Yes, achievements are subject to cultural variables), your personality traits or simply your beauty (Girls, of cause). I'm proud of myself because of my parents, my personal traits, how I have been brought up or simply because of whom I am.
Excessive pride, vanity, is a little bit irritating however. I find myself get along with any type of person but often find its irritating when they have vanity (its a bit different story with girls though). I should not forget to mention boastfulness, the sincerity in expressing one's self. I often wonder how they even do that. Talk about themselves for hours just like we are so interested. What is more annoying is that these types of people do not care about others, or what others have to say. Most of the time they tend to be poor listeners (based on my observations). However it is these differences that make the world alive. Otherwise it would be like walking on an empty street.
I do apologise if you got confused with my starting off on ethics and then ending this in a different way. That is because frankly, Magnanimity in Aristotle's moral virtues is what made me write this, but since I'm so bored with ethics (thanks to my research project) and I do not really know much about it, I decided to write what I do know. This is not over though. I can write hundreds of pages on characteristics of people and their behaviours. A very interesting area which I like to observe and learn.