Talk:Vanity

Vanity Furniture
Golly, I wrote the definition for the piece of furniture. But as it stands, it just looks like a dictionary definition. Is there more to be said for it, such as the history or other noteworthy aspects? Even an image would help. If not, perhaps it should just be deleted. &mdash;Frecklefoot 19:50, 13 Nov 2003 (UTC)

You were going to make an encyclopedic entry for the thing you shave in front of in the morning? OK, I get it, I think...

Character trait
What about an entry as Vanity as a character trait? 71.65.54.92 21:28, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

You can find the vanity as a character trait on wiktionary Optimix 17:44, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

No reference to "Meaninglessness"
I am no expert in this area, but I feel there is a whole lot missing from this article. Shouldn't there at least be some reference to the idea of "meaninglessness"? In my opinion all the present connotations of vanity (that are dealt with extensively in this article, the idea of excessive narcisstic self-belief) arose from the fact that to an outside observer these people are grasping at nothingness, that in the end (with respect to the greater world, and the eventual death of the individuals)what they care about (i.e. themselves) do not truly "matter"; their concerns are trivial and completely "meaningless" in the long-run. So there should be some sort of reference (even a single word would be fine)in the article relating vanity to the idea of "meaninglessness".

Agreed. The quote from Ecclesiates is entirely out of context. The Hebrew word translated as vanity in Ecclesiastes is hevel, is literally breath, or breeze, metaphorically coupled with the phrase "striving after the wind". It is interpreted as "meaningless", "useless", "fruitless" or as expressed in this article "vanity", as in, "He attempted in vain to save her life." In this sense vanity does not mean arrogance or pride.

Psychological underpinnings
In psychology, vanity could be considered an ego defense or a compensatory behavior. This defense might arise out of a inner or outer power struggle over perceived attractiveness or value. This compensatory response might arise from a mis-attribution of the source of perceived attractiveness or value. For example, if the brain registers pleasure when receiving a compliment persistently and intensely it could shape a person's self-concept as being determined by outside sources. It might be valuable to perceive vanity as an addictive behavior to receive a pleasure that one does not realize can arise from one's self. This description is probably most closely aligned with Heinz Kohut and Self-psychology —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.248.148.33 (talk) 21:02, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Nietzsche and vanity
From the Wiki article on Vanity:


 * 1) Vanity (compare Pride) is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. [NOTE: in the article on Pride, pride is equated with vanity and arrogance, at least in a Christian perspective]
 * 2) Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that "vanity is the fear of appearing original: it is thus a lack of pride, but not necessarily a lack of originality."

The two definitions are obviously antithetic: pride (1.) vs. lack of pride (2.).

A comment should be added to the main article underlining, and if possible trying to explain this antithesis. --Miguel de Servet 13:35, 30 June 2006 (UTC) hello

true. also, "emptiness", though it might not be directly connected to pride, but there is some belief that emptiness emerges from stolen or hurt pride. I wish that we would open a discussion about this topic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Silenced121 (talk • contribs) 18:10, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

A little bit off topic but I don't get how one would get to Nietzsche's conclusion if someone was vainglorious why would one fear being original common sense would tell you they'd want to appear original to seperate them from the crowd, make them seem better, unique. In fact dictionary.com states: Vanity: "1. excessive pride in one's appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.; character or quality of being vain; conceit" not only does it make it appear to be synonymous it actually uses "pride" to define it.Props888 (talk) 01:47, 27 April 2011 (UTC)