What is egoism? Types of egoism and its manifestation

Think about what selfishness is and are there any manifestations of it in ourselves? How can selfishness manifest itself? Is it really possible that throwing tantrums, or self-admiration, or constant complaints can be “masked” as this very selfishness?

Everyone knows that it is not good to be selfish, that they think only about themselves when their own interests are above all. Selfishness implies selfishness, which reaches the point of egocentrism, indifference, selfishness and disdain for others.

Selfishness can be obvious, hidden and open, as well as disguised. It can also be conscious and impulsive, far-sighted and short-sighted.

Let's consider two types of egoists: active and passive.

Active egoists They are well oriented in the world around them, knowing perfectly well how to properly please people and at the same time give compliments. But when talking with them, it becomes clear that they are doing all this only in order to achieve their own selfish goals. To do this, they are capable of doing anything, showing hypocrisy and even sacrificing their own reputation.

Passive egoists, as a rule, do not want to do anything good for others. They can go towards their goal, as they say, “over the heads,” while acting rudely and arrogantly. Very often those around them understand their essence and begin to avoid them, which is why such egoists most often become lonely.

For the concept " selfishness“Characteristic forms include disguised tyranny, narcissistic disorder, and the hysterical type.

What is disguised tyranny? This is hidden control over other people. Egoists, showing such “tyranny”, begin to complain about everything: lack of appetite, health, weakness. But all this can be fictitious, they are starting a “subtle game”, presenting themselves as a “victim”.

At narcissistic disorder people are only concerned with themselves. They are called "". Have you ever communicated with people who only talk about themselves and their affairs? You can also call it “delusions of grandeur.” They also begin to exaggerate their importance and are unable to bear any criticism. But this is very important - to correctly perceive criticism and listen to the opinions of others. This was written about in detail in the article “How to Take Criticism.” In fact, in the souls of egoistic narcissists live deception, constant dissatisfaction with oneself, dislike for oneself and a feeling of helplessness.

Hysterical people live with constant feeling tension and anxiety. They perceive all situations as a personal drama, and are ready to act out the performance at any moment. Why? Because they want to draw attention to themselves. If this fails, then this begins to irritate them and make them angry, after which they tearfully blame the whole world. For them, indifference is simply unbearable; they require constant confirmation of their merits. In life they can be very suspicious and insecure people, but they categorically deny this.

Selfishness cannot be veiled. It begins to “pop up” both in relationships and in situations. And very often people, having fallen in love with each other, simply “forget” and begin to show selfishness even in love relationships (“

Selfishness is a quality condemned by society: this word comes from the Latin ego - “I”. And it means a person’s desire for personal gain. But isn't it natural? It’s worth figuring out who an egoist is, and whether it’s so bad to be one.

Popular opinion

When accusing someone of selfishness, they usually mean that the person thinks only about himself. And he pursues his own interests to the detriment of others, pushes everyone aside with his elbows on the way to his goals and “walks over corpses.” This is what an egoist is, according to the majority. who is incapable of loving anyone but himself. Therefore, he takes and takes away much more than he gives, and never helps others. The meaning of his life is to create best conditions for yourself.

Altruism

Which offensive word- selfish! Its antonym is altruist - it seems more positive characteristic, which doesn't sound that often. An altruist cares about others (selflessly and selflessly), that is, he easily sacrifices his interests and goals to others. He is driven by the best motives: compassion, humanism, mercy, and so on.

The struggle and unity of opposites

An altruist will take off his last shirt just to help his neighbor. For example, a woman who simultaneously works, fully organizes the household and takes care of the children, that is, devotes herself entirely to the family. Her selfish husband considers this situation quite natural and is sincerely perplexed why his other half is sometimes out of sorts: she cares about him, her beloved. They complement each other wonderfully, don't they?

Extremes

It is not known whether extreme egoists suffer from the loneliness promised to them or from the disapproval of others, but from the excess of everything that they have “grabbed” for themselves - yes. This is who an egoist is - not at all what he wanted to be at any cost. The altruist, however, is no happier: perhaps, confidence in his own high moral qualities allows him to assert himself, but in his desire to give endlessly, he will give away all of himself to others - alas, not infinitely. By the way, instead of gratitude, he will probably only receive the title of a spineless rag. And even if his last shirt goes not to a greedy egoist, but to an equally altruist who has gone to extremes and poverty, this will not benefit society as a whole: the number of shirtless people in it will remain the same.

Who is a reasonable egoist?

Every person has own desires and needs, and in a healthy developing society they all must be taken into account and coordinated with each other. Reasonable egoism, which is also called social individualism, presupposes exactly this: a person should fulfill his own desires and achieve his goals, take care of his well-being, but in such a way as not to infringe on the interests of other people. Such peaceful life will certainly bring him more desired joy than the constant struggle with everyone and everyone for best place under the sun. It is also better for an altruist to be reasonable and take care of his neighbors without missing out on his own benefits: he can give them something only when he himself is healthy, rich and happy.

An egoist is a person whose behavior is subordinated to proprietary interests, for whom the main measure of any action (or inaction) is his own benefit, even if this threatens to infringe on the interests of other people.

An egoist most often becomes a person who was overly pampered in childhood, who did not receive proper education and grew up in an atmosphere of permissiveness and excessive care. In general, all children are born selfish, this innate quality is akin to animal instincts, because all animals are selfish. But what if wild beast ready to fight for his prey, we perceive as a natural phenomenon, then the selfishness of children (and then adults) is perceived rather negatively by human society.

And this is natural: by following the egoistic motives of a team member, we risk becoming slaves to his desires, emotions, and point of view. The point is not only that the egoist does not want to share, for example, his chocolate bar with others (here we're talking about rather about banal greed rather than selfishness). An egoist will not allow you, for example, to use his own devices or templates, as a result of which you will also be able to make your work easier or increase your productivity (and then it will become less noticeable to your superiors). Or, for example, although everyone else will simply languish from the heat, he will not allow the window to be opened, saying that he is cold, and he will absolutely not give a damn about the wishes of the majority, because the main thing for him is the mental and physical comfort of his own “I”. By the way, literally the word “egoist” is translated as “I am.”

But there are also positive aspects to selfishness. If an egoist is the head of a family, he will passionately protect it, make sure that all its members are provided with everything they need - after all, it is important for him to realize that his property (and this is how he treats his family) is worthy of himself. Most often, the family is perceived by the egoist as an extension of his own self. It is in such families that the father certainly demands that his grandchildren not only bear his last name, but also his first and patronymic names, that is, they be his full namesakes.

Another positive aspect of egoism - the desire to distinguish oneself, to glorify oneself - leads to the fact that it is often egoists who find solutions to production problems, create conditions for innovation - in other words, contribute to progress. It is in such cases that we speak of practical, rational egoism, or healthy egoism.

An extreme case of egoism is egocentrism, when a person considers himself the “center of the Universe”: he can talk for hours about himself, his loved one, without worrying in the least that someone may not only be uninterested in it, but also unpleasant. Unlike an egoist who is able to do something for others (so that they will eventually pay attention to him, noting his achievements), an egocentric person is in principle incapable of this, believing that everyone simply must be happy that they happen to be familiar with such a wonderful person like him. A person with such a character finds it extremely difficult to get along in a family, considering family members only as a tool to achieve his goals and desires. Often this is simply a family tyrant, keeping the rest of the family members in constant nervous and mental tension.

If selfishness is traditionally considered negative trait character, then its opposite is altruism, they believe absolutely positive quality a person when social consciousness completely subjugates the personal principle. This is exactly what the utopians dreamed of; this is exactly how the early Bolshevik approach to human society was interpreted. But, as you know, extremes are harmful in everything. And if we talk about extremes, then it is somehow closer and more understandable when an egoist, without even trying to understand the essence of the issue, rushes headlong to defend the rightness of a member of his family or, by hook or by crook, strives to create for him comfortable conditions of existence anywhere , to the detriment of the rest of the team, than when an altruist takes the last piece of bread out of the house to help the starving children of the distant and unknown country of Guadeloupe.

Egoism is the position and behavior of a person, which is completely focused on his “I”, on obtaining pleasure, success and benefit. The highest good for any egoist is to satisfy his own interests.

Perhaps the egoist will object - what's so bad here? After all, every person wants to feel pleasant, good and comfortable. Those who say otherwise are lying.

What is egoism?

In principle, there is nothing wrong with self-love, since it is a natural sense of self-preservation and is inherent in everyone. However, the difference between selfishness and egoism is that egoists satisfy their needs to the detriment of the personal interests of other people. And with selfishness, concern for one’s own good does not contradict the good of other people, or even combines with it and benefits everyone.

Selfishness is based on hypertrophied conceit and indifference to other people. For an egoist, the main thing is to satisfy his needs and achieve his goals.

How does selfishness manifest itself?

Selfishness can manifest itself in different forms.

• This may be the conviction that everything should be subordinate to the interests of the egoist.
• It happens that a person considers it right to achieve personal goals by any means he pleases.
• For many egoists there is a law - "The end justifies any means" but this law applies only to them.
• Or does a person believe that all people should comply moral principles. Everyone except him, if he at the moment it's not profitable.

What gives rise to selfishness? Selfishness in the family

Usually selfishness is a consequence of improper upbringing in the family. When a child is instilled with an awareness of his own exclusivity from childhood, his inflated self-esteem, as well as egocentrism, is developed, the child may begin to form a stable orientation of values, in which he will take into account only his own needs, interests and experiences.

When becoming an adult, a child’s concentration on himself and his desires, indifference to others can lead to loneliness and a feeling of hostility in the world. The same feelings can arise in children who are faced with the indifference of parents and other people. A person begins to think that no one will take care of him and his needs except himself and begins to put his desires at the forefront.

What suffers first from selfishness is the parents themselves, who indirectly gave rise to that same selfishness. Over time, parents begin to be surprised that the child has no other interests other than his own, and indifference and indifference to parents appears.

In families where one of the spouses is selfish, it’s also not easy. It is quite difficult to live with a person who puts his “I” first and thinks that everyone around him should satisfy only his needs. He believes that the world should revolve around him, and if this does not happen, quarrels, scandals, and reproaches arise. Moreover, during quarrels, the egoist reproaches others for selfishness.

How to talk to an egoist?

It is quite difficult to talk with this type of people, because they do not hear you. Usually an egoist is self-absorbed. An egoist needs a listener, preferably one who is delighted and agrees with everything. Very often, egoists are leaders, strong natures who carry more people with them. weak in character. There is a certain danger in communicating with them, since they can reveal their own desires under the guise of yours and manipulate you.

Egoists are vulnerable people, painfully proud. They are too focused on themselves and may not even notice the irony and hostility of others. If you are forced to communicate with such a person, for example, at work, then there are two ways to develop the relationship. The first one will help you get rid of your self-centered interlocutor for a long time. To do this, you just need to start discussing with him his shortcomings and miscalculations. As soon as a colleague starts bragging about his achievements, remind him of his failures and the consequences of his mistakes. After this, the egoist will definitely want to interrupt the conversation and may not want to talk to you anymore.

If you don’t want to spoil the relationship and are just tired of talking, start praising his talents and achievements, do not spare words and effort for this. Compliments and flattery are a balm for his soul. And then just stop the conversation, citing urgent matters, in this case he will remember you as a pleasant and interesting person.

What if you fell in love with an egoist?

It is best to immediately run away from such a person, otherwise you will lose yourself as a person. An egoist does not tolerate people with own opinion, views and interests. Immediately ask yourself the question: do you have the strength to revolve around him?

Is it possible to re-educate an egoist?

Re-education is possible only in the event of a strong shock, during which he will understand that there are living people around him who have their own interests, problems and feelings. It is very difficult to change an adult; this is possible only if he himself wants to improve and makes an effort to do so. If your selfish partner loves you and wants to improve, it’s worth a try, but you need to have a lot of patience.

English egoism; German Egoismus. Value orientation; a moral and ethical principle that characterizes the behavior of a person who strives to satisfy only his own needs and interests, neglects the interests of others, and treats another person as an object and a means of achieving selfish goals. One of the forms of manifestation of individualism; is opposed to altruism.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

SELFISHNESS

lat. ego - I) is the principle of life orientation and the moral quality of a person associated with the preference for one’s own interests over the interests of other (individual and collective) subjects. E. is directly opposed to altruism - the principle of selfless, sacrificial morality of serving one's neighbor. “How is altruism possible without egoism? Those who sacrifice their lives are altruists, and who are they who accept the sacrifice?” N. Fedorov once wrote.

The phenomenon of E. is polysemic and multifunctional. In ethical concepts, its essence was derived either from the nature of man, his desire for happiness (eudaimonism), pleasure and pleasure (hedonism); or from the need to gain public recognition (utilitarianism and pragmatism); or from a combination of these factors (the theory of “reasonable E.”). B. Spinoza believed that a person is guided not by the moral law of goodness, but by the desire for self-preservation and personal gain, that a person can defend his earthly interests without God. I. Kant classified human behavior as “radically evil”, with the desire to concentrate all goals on oneself, one’s own benefit and benefit. A. Schopenhauer called E. the real spring of human behavior, a manifestation of his original nature. French philosophers of the 18th century. argued that “reasonable self-love,” correctly understood self-interest, are the basis of social virtues and success. Bye. Helvetius, the contradictions between public and personal interests are generated by the self-interest and ignorance of people, the imperfection of laws, which is overcome by education and morality, “humanity”. In the ethics of N. Chernyshevsky, “reasonable E.” means the conscious and free submission by a person of his goals common cause, from the success of which the individual himself benefits. Phenomenologically, E. reflects the various intentions of a person. On the one hand, vanity (the desire to achieve success, fame, to arouse universal admiration), ambition (the thirst for primacy and recognition), attempts to realize the right to happiness and self-expression. "Moralists speak of selfishness as bad habit“, without asking whether a person can be a person, having lost a living sense of personality,” A. Herzen wrote about these desires. On the other hand, E. presupposes self-love, reaching the point of egocentrism, selfishness, indifference and disregard for other people. Forms are also known group E. as the desire to defend the private interest of the collective to the detriment of other collective interests, the moral quality of E. naturally inherent in human nature should and can be compensated by a sympathetic attitude towards others. various forms moral reciprocity, understanding.