Selfishness

Author: Leandro Alegsa Creation date: November 13, 2022

Selfishness means the quality or state of being selfish and selfish means lack of consideration for other people. It is having more concern for yourself than for others. A selfish man aims at obtaining as much happiness as he can for himself and does not care whether other people are happy or unhappy. In order to attain his object, he tries to appropriate as large a share as possible of the good things of this world. It may be accompanied by a lack of empathy. Selfishness is the opposite of selflessness. It is also different, though related, to self-centredness and self-affirmation. Many psychologists approve of a healthy level of selfishness, in order for some people to stay happy.

In the study of ethics and morality, selfishness is usually considered bad. In contrast, acts of selflessness are praised. Wider debate about it, however, such as in philosophy, psychology and economics, has shown that scholars have had many different opinions about its value and consequences. In most major religions, selfishness is considered an immoral or bad habit. In Christianity, it is associated with pride, often considered the worst of the Seven deadly sins. Aristotle condemned men who would only try to profit themselves; but he approved of those who would try to gain the praise from others that he deserved.

In the context of modern-day economics, there is a much wider opinion. Bernard Mandeville has argued that the economic advancement of society depends on selfish actions. Ayn Rand argued that selfishness is a virtue and the cause of all progress.

Criteria/Delimitation

1. primacy of the ego: regardless of the goal, purpose or effect of the attitude or action, the primacy of the ego is mandatory for egoism.

2. awareness: egoism is to be distinguished from egocentrism (see below). Selfishness takes place in a more or less conscious and/or intentional attitude. Egocentrism takes place unconsciously.

Definitions

Evolutionarily, the drives to behave selfishly arose from competitive behavior. They are a component of human social behavior.

Egoism is a highly controversial phenomenon, as it is understood, evaluated or defined differently by different people and groups. Often it is also used in an interest-driven way to achieve certain purposes: e.g. to justify power or to belittle others. Therefore, it makes sense to define the term more closely on the basis of further characteristics. Therefore, at least four forms of egoism can be distinguished. An attempt at classification could look like this: Following the subjective approach, a distinction is made between egoism in the narrower sense and egoism in the broader sense; following the objective approach, positive egoism is to be separated from negative egoism.

Selfishness in the broader sense:

If one considers egoism in the broadest sense, every human behaviour is and must be classified as egoistic, because every conscious action is based on an individual weighing of the benefit of the action. Thus, in the broadest sense, even altruistic behavior can be subordinated to the concept of egoism, since the altruistic person subjectively evaluates his actions as beneficial, because he perceives the benefit he intends for the other as a personal success (e.g. successful child rearing, successful medical help). This also applies to all other definitions, but is omitted from their meaning in order to create a simplification and make the term manageable.

Selfishness in the strict sense:

In a narrower sense, behaviour is to be classified as selfish if the person acting consciously accepts a disadvantage for another person and is solely concerned with his own advantage, although an alternative behaviour that meets the criteria of justice and morality as well as the principle of equality would be possible. If there is no awareness of the actual disadvantages for another person as a result of one's own actions or omissions, one can no longer speak of egoism in the narrower sense, but of egocentrism. Under the Wikipedia lemma "egocentrism", egoism is defined as "reflected self-indulgence". Here, the other is not perceived as an equal subject, but is only an instrument of one's own feeling of pleasure. This concept of egoism therefore has a negative connotation and is often used in the context of moral accusations.

Positive egoism:

In the objective approach, the consequences of human actions are evaluated because it is assumed that the true intentions of human actions are difficult or impossible to determine. One therefore speaks of positive egoism when the consequences of self-centred thinking and behaviour objectively have a general benefit and do not harm individuals. In particular, the idea of competition is based on this positive conception of egoism. This egoism describes the driving, prosperity- and thus general welfare-promoting effects of self-centred thinking.

Another phenomenon of positive egoism is "cooperative egoism", which can be observed above all in the USA: those individuals who are most committed to egoistic values such as career and self-fulfilment are often at the same time those who value communal activities highly and spend a large part of their free time helping others. Cooperative egoism is also referred to as "altruistic individualism". This shows that positively selfish motives can blur with altruistic goals.

Ayn Rand's "Objectivism" describes a so-called "rational" egoism, which is presented by its proponents as reasonable and productive action for one's own benefit and with respect for the negative protective rights of other individuals. These rights essentially protect life, liberty and property in the sense of a defence against physical violence; protection against structural violence, on the other hand, is absent from "Objectivism".

Negative selfishness:

This includes forms of self-centred thinking, insofar as their consequences are detrimental to the general good and cause harm to individuals. Social differences, ruthlessness, war and human catastrophes are objectively ascertainable possible consequences of this understanding of egoism.