Between hybris and the Dunning-Kruger effect

What is hybris, if not the oldest name for overconfidence? In the Socratic dialogue Alcibiades I, Socrates confronts the brilliant yet vainglorious Alcibiades with a startling truth: believing and acting as if you were more or better than what you are.

This is no ordinary insult. It is the beginning of philosophical therapy. For Socrates, hybris is not …