On the Nature and Ethics of Humblebragging

Accusations of humblebragging have become increasingly common in recent years, and the phenomenon of humblebragging has been widely studied in disciplines ranging from psychology to linguistics. By contrast, philosophical discussion of humblebragging has been virtually non-existent. In this paper, I aim to remedy this neglect and to demonstrate that humblebragging raises significant philosophical issues. In particular, I focus on answering two central questions concerning the nature and ethics of humblebragging. First, what is humblebragging? Second, why is humblebragging often viewed as especially egregious compared to other forms of self-promotion?