Servility consists of flattering others, regardless of their actions.
The notion of servility is associated with servile : that which is typical of a servant (a slave or someone subjected). The concept allows us to mention the position of someone who is absolutely subordinate to something or someone . According to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, a second meaning of this term refers to the ideology of the so-called servilones , the people who supported the absolute monarchy at the beginning of the 19th century.
Submission, subordination and adulation
Servility, in this framework, is linked to submission , subordination and flattery . A person who follows orders without making any type of reflection or questioning, even if they are contrary to their wishes or interests, or even if their consequences are harmful to them, is performing an act of servility.
Typically, servility refers to an excessive tendency to satisfy someone who occupies a position of power or is at a higher level on a hierarchical scale . The servile subject is flattering and abject , he does not dare to express his point of view if it is contrary to that of the powerful nor does he dare to defend the interests of his peers.
Examples of servility
Suppose a journalist interviews the president of a country. Throughout the talk, the communicator only asks superficial questions and constantly praises the president. Many warn of the servility of the reporter who, whether for fear of possible reprisals or for economic convenience, chooses not to bother the political leader.
Let's take the case of a worker who begins to act as an informant for his boss in an effort to earn his consideration. This employee does not hesitate to rat out his colleagues, exposing them in different situations, to ingratiate himself with the owner of the company . As you can see, this is a clear example of servility.
Needless to say, neither of the two professionals is doing a good job, and it is not necessary to have technical knowledge of each area to understand it. Sincerity and honesty should be the bases of any profession, of any personality. Flattering someone for fear of their reaction if we are sincere or betraying the trust of our colleagues to get a promotion are despicable attitudes, absolutely unjustifiable.
Helpful and helpful
It is important not to confuse the terms "servile" and "helpful", since not only do they have different meanings but the former has a negative connotation, while the latter has a positive connotation. A helpful person has a natural tendency to help others, a need to make them feel comfortable, so they do it with care and diligence. As long as she does not exceed the limit of her own will, this trait satisfies her and makes her someone constructive for society.
Servility also harms the flattered person, because it clouds their vision of themselves.
As we have seen in the previous paragraphs, on the other hand, a servile person does not respect himself, nor does he act motivated by a genuine desire to help. Servility does not have good intentions, it does not seek well-being but rather functions as a mechanism typical of the lack of freedom , of the imposition of certain rules or expectations that cloud the vision of those who carry it out.
With respect to the words themselves from a grammatical point of view, there is no noun equivalent to "servilism" in our language for the adjective "helpful." However, we can speak of "helpful attitude ", both to describe a particular individual or to define the concept in general as an ideal to achieve: "We condemn servility but we aim to train people with a helpful attitude, aware of the other people's problems to develop their empathy to the maximum .