An interesting discussion. I have a friend who studied philosophy at university. From him, I noticed that a good deal of what was studied were the philosophers themselves, rather than the underlying philosophy. But he pointed out that this does help provide something of a framework on which to wrap philosophical thought - philosophers as sort of signposts and labels of philosophical discourse.
Plus as you've noticed it's useful to have a vocabulary to describe philosophical thought. Ordinary words come clouded with haloes of meanings which can mask the precision required in discussing concepts, which by their very nature are rather nebulous to begin with. And as you've noticed it does mean you don't have to reinvent the wheel, as you put it. :) Though philosophers often seem to enjoy doing exactly that!
On the nature of Hatred, I am inclined to agree with you that Hatred is a corrosive and thus inherently expansive thing. I suppose it has the advantage of being a more visceral driving force than say a more cerebral motivator like belief in rights. So that it crops up isn't surprising. But it does grow as you point out - it becomes indiscriminate. Its end point is always eventually hatred of all difference, hate of other. And that's very frightening since that condones anything in the pursuit of purity... (I am suddenly minded of the Cybermen here - though nominally purged of emotion, they are better described as hating difference.)
When thinking of Pride, I always link it to the related emotional complex of Hubris. Pride is not inherently bad, since to be proud of something does not inherently do down others. I can be proud, say, to be British, without meaning that I think less of those who aren't. It's when Pride slips into Hubris that trouble starts. Hubris blinds you to the consequence of belief. Hubris will not see error, cannot accept limits, forgives faults within self as inevitable price of superiority. Willow's story is a classic example of Hubris. And the Torchwood Institute portrayed in Doctor Who is another: "I did my duty" does not forgive foreseeable failures and harm caused by your actions.
I only ever studied a little bit of philosophy on school, and I wish I had done more. I still use the most valuable thing that I learned then: recognising different types of fallacy () in arguments. Makes me wonder if more such study could have stood me in good stead also.
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Plus as you've noticed it's useful to have a vocabulary to describe philosophical thought. Ordinary words come clouded with haloes of meanings which can mask the precision required in discussing concepts, which by their very nature are rather nebulous to begin with. And as you've noticed it does mean you don't have to reinvent the wheel, as you put it. :) Though philosophers often seem to enjoy doing exactly that!
On the nature of Hatred, I am inclined to agree with you that Hatred is a corrosive and thus inherently expansive thing. I suppose it has the advantage of being a more visceral driving force than say a more cerebral motivator like belief in rights. So that it crops up isn't surprising. But it does grow as you point out - it becomes indiscriminate. Its end point is always eventually hatred of all difference, hate of other. And that's very frightening since that condones anything in the pursuit of purity... (I am suddenly minded of the Cybermen here - though nominally purged of emotion, they are better described as hating difference.)
When thinking of Pride, I always link it to the related emotional complex of Hubris. Pride is not inherently bad, since to be proud of something does not inherently do down others. I can be proud, say, to be British, without meaning that I think less of those who aren't. It's when Pride slips into Hubris that trouble starts. Hubris blinds you to the consequence of belief. Hubris will not see error, cannot accept limits, forgives faults within self as inevitable price of superiority. Willow's story is a classic example of Hubris. And the Torchwood Institute portrayed in Doctor Who is another: "I did my duty" does not forgive foreseeable failures and harm caused by your actions.
I only ever studied a little bit of philosophy on school, and I wish I had done more. I still use the most valuable thing that I learned then: recognising different types of fallacy () in arguments. Makes me wonder if more such study could have stood me in good stead also.