Egoism

Egoism (egoˈɪsmʊs, from Latin ego "I" with Greek suffix -ism) means "self-interest", "self-interestedness".

Regardless of the psychological perspective, the Duden lists many linguistic synonyms ("self-love, self-will, selfishness, self-seeking, self-centeredness, narcissism, self-obsession, self-centeredness, self-love, self-seeking, self-love; (elevated) egoism; (educated) egotism, egocentrism; (psychology) autophilia").

Egoisms (plural) are supposed to be modes of action in which only the agent himself determines the maxim of action. These actions usually have the unrestricted advantage of the actor as their purpose. If this advantage in a symbiotic attitude towards life is at the same time also the advantage of others, then such a way of acting is partly regarded as ethically legitimate. Mostly, however, an egoist is understood as a short-sighted person acting in the sense of a greed egoist who can hardly accept it when other people show themselves to be equally greedy towards him. The greed egoist thus grants himself more freedom than he allows others.

"Selfishness" is most often used pejoratively as a synonym for inconsiderate behavior and judged as "indecent." The term then describes the attitude of exclusively pursuing outward personal interests without consideration for the concerns or even to the detriment of others. Egoism is criticized in this context as the opposite of altruism and solidarity, but this is only true if the inner benefit is not taken into account at all when judging one's actions.

Conversely, there is the view that altruism is only possible through the attainment of one's own good, analogous, for example, to the rule that applies in rescue operations, that self-protection is the first measure of first aid.

Moreover, there is a view that love of self and love of neighbor are inseparable, both mutually dependent, analogous to the well-known biblical quotation: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:31 EU)

The negative view of egoism as egomania contrasts with a positive valuation of a "healthy" egoism, which is philosophically elaborated in Ethical Egoism. A value-free view is the factual assertion of Psychological Egoism that all people acted de facto egoistically. Also value-free is the economic model of homo economicus.

The term "reciprocal altruism" attempts to discuss the interplay between selfish behavior and altruism, assuming that selfish behavior can be altruistic.

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.