False heroism measures superiority through the harm it inflicts on others

Evidence

The false hero, to convince himself he goes far and flies high, always looks back, at his feet; he despises, he accuses, he oppresses, he persecutes, he tortures, he massacres. It is through the evil he does to his neighbor that he measures his superiority over him. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 495

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: A dense, paradigm-level observation: what passes for transcendent heroism is actually a purely negative self-assertion defined by the degradation of others. This grounds her later argument that man defines himself as Subject by making woman the inessential Other.
• XREF: connects to: Cowardice and heroism are deeds, not inborn temperaments. — Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism Is a Humanism, 19; Voluntarism degenerates into false heroism when detached from organic social blocs. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 820; Effective systems of wrongdoing recruit dutiful subordinates who disown responsibility for harm (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Voluntarism degenerates into false heroism when detached from organic social blocs. #expands (0.85) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 820
• Violence against racial others functions to convince perpetrators of their own superiority #exemplifies (0.85) — Sherene Razack, Casting Out, 144
• Belief in a cause’s morality turns destructive acts into pride #corroborates (0.78)
• Effective systems of wrongdoing recruit dutiful subordinates who disown responsibility for harm #expands (0.72)