ABSTRACT
In a classic comedy routine, Professor Irwin Corey was asked why did he wear sneakers. The self-proclaimed world’s foremost authority on everything said that it was really two questions. He then launched into a lengthy monologue about “Why?” being the essential question that has occupied philosophers for centuries. In response to the second question, Professor Corey replied, “Do I wear sneakers? Yes!” In my view, in order to attempt an answer to the focal question of this essay, “Are striving for and possessing high self-esteem always healthy?,” one must answer at least two questions. The first asks, is all high self-esteem the same? This is a very complex question, however, I am not alone in arguing that the answer is no. That being the case, the answer to the question of the healthiness of possessing and striving for high self-esteem is easy; it depends on the type of high self-esteem one possesses.
