Is Self-Hate Good?

[TheBluAssassin]

I believe that it is. For one, it massively influences music. Grunge, for example, was very apathetic and self-loathing. I think hating yourself gives you inspiration and builds character. It also creates improvement, as you want to become better so you like yourself. I hated myself for many years, and because of that, I fixed what I hated about myself and became a better person overall. How do you feel about this topic?

 

[Vermanubis]

Wrong choice of words, in my opinion. Objective self-reflection is more like it.

 

[Holder of the Heel]

Yeah, what Verm said, it is good to have what he says. But not actually hating yourself. You can see your faults and acknowledge problem areas and work to fix them without having to hate yourself. In fact, hating yourself will only exacerbate the process and your life quality.

Having hatred for the sake of acquiring some sort of artistic benefit is perhaps a poor trade-off, wouldn't you think? Otherwise, writers and musicians would want to put themselves in miserable situations in order to increase their skills, as opposed to simply practicing, thinking, and gaining life experience in general, all the while applying "objective self-reflection".

 

[GwJ]

self-hate: No.
Objective self-reflection: Yes.

 

[TheBluAssassin]

Another good thing about self-hate is that it makes you more sympathetic towards others, because chances are, you hate yourself more than you hate them. And then when you start liking yourself again (which I suggest, as you can't hate yourself forever), maybe you'll be nicer to people. I believe that eventually, you should start liking yourself again, but self-hate is good for a period of time.

 

[GwJ]

Again, you're probably using the wrong word. Think about the way you're phrasing this and try again.

 

[Okuser]

"Self-Hate" poses the risk of making some individuals lose agency. The desire to "become better" isn't inherent to everyone.

 

[TheBluAssassin]

Again, you're probably using the wrong word. Think about the way you're phrasing this and try again.

Nope, I meant self-hate. As in, hatred of one's self.

 

[Claire Diviner]

Self-hatred by your strictest definition of the word has no real merit or benefit outside of the person potentially taking their own life out of sheer loathing for him/herself. It may also make the person hate others for being as human as they are, though this may not always be the case, but should that happen, they'll not only harm themselves from self-hatred, but they may harm others stemming from said hatred. In short, no, self-hatred is not good.

 

[Holder of the Heel]

Another good thing about self-hate is that it makes you more sympathetic towards others, because chances are, you hate yourself more than you hate them. And then when you start liking yourself again (which I suggest, as you can't hate yourself forever), maybe you'll be nicer to people. I believe that eventually, you should start liking yourself again, but self-hate is good for a period of time.

Hating yourself will not likely make you nicer to people. It will make you either bitter or not care about others, which the latter may make you feel the disillusion of being nicer because you aren't acting out against them, but really it isn't you being nice.

 

[1048576]

accurate perception of yourself is bad for you, good for everyone else. It's a prisoner's dilemma. Studies suggest people choose the dominant strategy.

 

[GofG]

my favorite part about this thread is how

it has a blue frownie face for the icon

 

[yani]

Self hatred literally destroys people.

 

[Dre89]

I find there to be a correlation between self hate and intelligence.

I guess that's why I hate myself so much

 

[-Final-]

I guess it could be a good thing, if it the person tries to improve themselves as a result of it. I can't see how self-hate without any attempt to change could be a good thing, though.

I definitely disagree with the statement that self-hate creates an increase in any kind of creative inspiration. From my experience, it seems to do the exact opposite. But then again, one person's experiences are not always the same as another's. Maybe it can positively influence creativity for somebody else.

:quill:

 

[GwJ]

I can't see how self-hate can be a good thing whatsoever. Like I've said multiple times before, "self-hate" is the wrong term to use to posit this kind of notion.

 

[Claire Diviner]

Another thing I'd like to add is that self-hatred is rather bad for one's own image or self esteem. In one study from the University of Michigan, studies show self-hatred to be the least potent motivator according to a survey of human psychology. It makes perfect sense, considering no good has ever come out of self-hatred, and it stands to reason that almost nothing good has ever come from such a thing. Here's an article that goes over some of the negatives in self-hatred:

http://www.healthy-self-esteem.com/self-hatred.html

 

[GofG]

I believe that self-hatred has creative merit. Self-hatred is possibly the most intense introspective function the human brain can perform. Since introspection is inherently recursive, it is a great source of deep and intricate ideas; this is the nature of recursion.

Since generally when artwork is both deep and intricate, it is regarded as being good, i'm sure self-hatred is a great boon for the art industry.

Some note individuals come to mind, but I would not want to force a privileged hypothesis fallacy onto anyone by suggesting examples, since obviously selection bias is a factor.

 

[theeboredone]

My human sexuality teacher (who is also a therapist for relationships) always emphasized to never hate one self, forgiveness enables us to not "keep score", and in turn it makes us happier and better (in regards to relationships at least.) I feel like you can add that sort of philosophy to your overall life. TC says that...

"I think hating yourself gives you inspiration and builds character. It also creates improvement, as you want to become better so you like yourself."

Well, I can agree that is one method, but I would prefer the less "painful" of the two. Being forgiving, kind, and loving yourself and the people around you can give you just the same or similar results as self-hate.

One example would be Tim Tebow. Yes he relies on his religion quite a bit, but the guy is so optimistic, it makes you feel as good inside.

 

[GwJ]

Since generally when artwork is both deep and intricate, it is regarded as being good, i'm sure self-hatred is a great boon for the art industry.

You're changing the supposition on the word "good" in your argument making it invalid. You're using "good" in two different senses here when comparing self-hatred's creative influence to the outcome of artwork. The "good" you get out of artwork isn't the same "good" you're trying to posit you get out of self-hate.

 

[Claire Diviner]

Since generally when artwork is both deep and intricate, it is regarded as being good, i'm sure self-hatred is a great boon for the art industry.

How is self-hatred good for the art industry? You need to at least explain how self-hatred leads to deep and intricate thoughts that can lead to good artwork.

Some note individuals come to mind, but I would not want to force a privileged hypothesis fallacy onto anyone by suggesting examples, since obviously selection bias is a factor.

If selection bias is a factor, then how are you going to back up your points without giving some sort of example, whether said examples are biased or not?