In our society, the remnants of Soviet morality are still heard, in which there was no place for any egoism - neither reasonable nor all-consuming. At the same time, developed countries, in particular the United States, have built their entire economy and society on the principles of selfishness. If we turn to religion, egoism is not welcome in it, and behavioral psychology claims that any action performed by a person has selfish motives, since it is based on the survival instinct. People around often scold a person who does what is best for him, calling him an egoist, but this is not a curse, and the world is not divided into black and white, just as there are no absolute egoists and. For those wishing to understand themselves and balance parts of the personality, we advise you to read our article on reasonable egoism.

Reasonable egoism: the concept

First of all, let's define what distinguishes reasonable egoism from unreasonable. The latter manifests itself in ignoring the needs and comfort of other people, focusing all the actions and aspirations of a person on satisfying his, often, momentary needs. Reasonable egoism also comes from the emotional and physiological needs of a person (“I want to leave work right now and go to bed”), but is balanced by reason, which distinguishes Homo sapiens from creatures that act purely instinctively (“I will finish the project, and tomorrow I will take the day off”) . As you can see, the need for will be satisfied, without prejudice to work.

The world is built on selfishness

There are hardly a dozen real altruists in the history of man. No, we do not in any way diminish the merits and merits of the numerous benefactors and heroes of our kind, but, to be completely honest, altruistic actions also come from the desire to satisfy one's ego. For example, a volunteer enjoys work, increases his self-esteem (“I am doing a good deed”). By helping a relative with money, you relieve your own anxiety for him, which is also partly a selfish motive. This does not need to be denied or tried to change, because this is not bad. Healthy egoism is inherent in every reasonable and developed person; it is the engine of progress. If you do not become a hostage to your desires and do not ignore the needs of others, this selfishness can be considered reasonable.

Lack of selfishness and self-improvement

People who give up their desires and live for the sake of others (children, spouses, friends) are the other extreme, in which their own needs are relegated to the background, and this is unhealthy. in this way you will definitely not achieve, it is for this that you need to understand where the golden mean is in the subtle issue of egoism. Its complete absence indicates low self-esteem and lack, which is a huge field for work on oneself.

In the process, a person inevitably shows reasonable selfishness, which is combined with concern for others. For example, you are trying to become a better person and get away from the control of your parents or partner. At first, others may be offended by your newfound independence in decision-making, but, in the long run, they will understand that you are becoming a better person, and improving the quality of your life will definitely have a positive impact on loved ones and loved ones.

Ethics Apresyan Ruben Grantovich

"Reasonable Egoism"

"Reasonable Egoism"

The variability of real moral positions that we have established above, which are often united by one word "egoism", is essential for understanding egoism itself. It would be wrong to regard this analysis as a kind of intellectual trick by which universal altruistic morality, like Odysseus and his companions in the Trojan horse, sneaks into the lot of egoism in order to overcome it from within. On the contrary, in distinguishing the formulas of egoism, the possibility is revealed that egoism does not always carry evil in itself. He can be non-evil and kind to the minimum extent that is ensured by the observance of the requirement "Do no harm."

critics selfishness are of the opinion that selfishness is an immoral moral doctrine. Indeed, if the main thing for a person is to realize his personal interest, then the fulfillment of the requirements imposed from the outside is not significant for him. According to the logic, according to which personal interest is exclusive, in extreme situations an egoist can go to the violation of the most radical prohibitions - to lie, steal, denounce and kill.

But the fundamental possibility of egoism, limited by the requirement "Do no harm", indicates that the exclusivity of private interest is not an indispensable property of egoism. Supporters egoism, they notice in response to criticism that when defining egoism, it is incorrect to draw a conclusion from the question of the moral motives of behavior (personal interest or general interest) about the meaningful certainty of the actions that follow from them. After all, the personal interest of an individual may include the fulfillment of moral requirements and the promotion of the common good. Such is the logic of the so-called reasonable selfishness.

According to this ethical doctrine, although each person primarily strives to satisfy personal needs and interests, among personal needs and interests there must be those whose satisfaction not only does not contradict the interests of other people, but also contributes to the common good. Such are reasonable or rightly understood (by the individual) interests. This concept was expressed already in antiquity (its elements can be found in Aristotle and Epicurus), but it was widely developed in modern times, as a component of various social and moral teachings of the 17th-18th centuries, as well as the 19th century.

As shown by Hobbes, Mandeville, A. Smith, Helvetius, N.G. Chernyshevsky, selfishness is an essential motive for economic and political activity, an important factor in social life. Egoism as a social quality of a person is determined by the nature of such social relations, which are based on utility. Expressing the "genuine" and "reasonable" interests of a person (hiddenly representing a common interest), it turns out to be fruitful, because it contributes to the common good. And the general interest does not exist separately from private interests; moreover, it is composed of a variety of private interests. So a person who intelligently and successfully realizes his own interest also contributes to the good of other people, the good of the whole.

This doctrine has a well-defined economic basis: with the development of commodity-money relations and their inherent forms of division of labor, any private activity focused on the creation of competitive goods and services and, consequently, on the public recognition of these results, turns out to be socially useful. This can be expressed in another way: in a free market, an autonomous and sovereign individual satisfies mine private interest only as a subject of activity or the owner of goods and services that satisfy the interests others individuals; in other words, entering into a relationship of mutual use.

Schematically, this can be expressed as follows: N owns the goods t, that the individual needs M, possessing a commodity t', constituting the subject of need N. Accordingly interest N satisfied provided that he provides M the object of his needs and thereby contributes to the satisfaction of his interest. Therefore, in the interest N promotion of interest M, for it is a condition for the satisfaction of his own interest.

These are, as we saw (in Topic 22), such relations that, regulated by the principle of equality of forces or the corresponding legal provisions, objectively limit egocentrism. In a broad sense, the principle of mutual use (mutual usefulness) allows you to reconcile conflicting private interests. Thus, the egoist receives a value basis for recognizing the significance, in addition to his own, of another private interest without violating the priority of his own interest. So the subject of a private interest of a person is also the implementation of the system of rules of the community and thereby maintaining its integrity. This suggests the conclusion that within the framework of such a pragmatically, that is, for the benefit, success and efficiency, oriented activity, limited egoism, firstly, let's say, secondly, is necessary. In the case of rejection of egoism, the relationship ceases to be a relationship of mutual utility. Economic relations cannot be built otherwise than relations of utility, in particular, mutual utility. Otherwise, economic efforts are doomed to failure.

However, the theorists of rational egoism saw the true expression of social morality in the social ties and dependencies that arise within and about economic activity. This is indeed the basis of a certain type of social discipline. However, certain - in the proper sense of the word, that is, limited, relevant in certain areas of social life. Reasonably selfish teachings overlook the fact that in a free market people are fully dependent on each other only as economic agents, as producers of goods and services. However, as private individuals, as bearers of private interests, they are completely isolated from each other.

Strictly speaking, the concept of rational egoism assumes that we are talking about an individual involved in a particular community and, therefore, included in a kind of "social contract" - as a system of mutual rights and obligations. The "social contract" acts as if that highest (and general) standard which elevates the individual above the concreteness of his everyday situations. However, the real society is much more complicated. It is not holistic. It is internally contradictory. It is impossible to establish uniform principles of rationality in it (even in the limited first five meanings of this word). In a real society, various groups and communities coexist, in particular competing ones, including “shadow” and criminal ones. At the same time, an autonomous personality is potentially unlimited alienated from other people both psychologically and socially and morally. All this creates immediate conditions for the “falling out” of the individual from the influence of various restraining regulatory systems and, consequently, for the “openness” of private interest to a variety of, including anti-social and immoral actions that cannot be explained through an indication of the “unreasonableness” of private interest and the need to replace it with a "reasonable" private interest.

The difficult question that arises in this connection concerns possible motives for being a reasonable, even a reasonable egoist. A typical example is ticketless travel on public transport. From a legal point of view, the passenger and the transport company (or municipal government, etc., depending on who is the owner of public transport) are supposed to be in a certain contractual relationship, according to which the passenger acquires the right to use the fare, accepting the obligation to pay for the fare . Quite often, passengers use the fare without paying for it. The situation when someone uses the results of other people's efforts, without offering anything in return, occurs not only in public transport. However, ticketless travel is a typical case of such a situation. Therefore, in moral and legal philosophy, this situation and the collisions that arise in connection with it are called the “free rider problem”.

This problem, first elucidated by Hobbes and conceptualized in our time by Rawls, is as follows. In conditions when collective goods are created by the efforts of many individuals, the non-participation of one individual in this process is really insignificant. And vice versa, if collective efforts were not made, even decisive actions of one would not bring any result. While "free-riding" by one or more (passengers) does not directly harm the community, it undermines cooperative relationships. From a mercantile point of view, free-riding can be perceived as an individually justified and, therefore, rational line of behavior. From a broader point of view, taking into account the advantages of cooperation, the selfish point of view can recommend cooperation as rational behavior. (Obviously, this is a reasonable egoistic point of view). As we can see, at different levels of evaluation of the same behavior, the criteria of rationality turn out to be different.

In general, it should be said that, as a rationale for morality, rational egoistic concepts are only a refined form of the apology of individualism. Not without reason, having turned out to be nothing more than a curious episode in the history of philosophical and ethical thought, they reveal amazing vitality in everyday consciousness - as a certain type of moral worldview that matures and is affirmed within the framework of a pragmatic frame of mind in morality. The initial premise of reasonable egoism contains two theses: a) striving for my own benefit, I contribute to the benefit of other people, the benefit of society, b) since good is benefit, then, striving for my own benefit, I contribute to the development of morality. In practice, the rationally egoistic attitude is expressed in the fact that the individual chooses his own good as goals in the "firm belief" that this is exactly what meets the requirements of morality. The principle of utility commands everyone to strive for the best results and proceed from the fact that utility, efficiency, and success are the highest values. In the rationally egoistic version, this principle also receives an ethical content, it is, as it were, sanctioned on behalf of reason and morality. But the question of how private benefit contributes to the common good remains open as a practical question.

The same applies to the question of procedures that certify the coincidence of private and general interests and allow checking the private interest for its correspondence to the general interest. True, the general interest is always represented in one way or another through various private interests. It can be assumed that the social and cultural progress of mankind is manifested in the fact that the private interests of an increasing number of people approach or coincide with the general interest. However, the rapprochement of general and private interests is not the subject and result of a lofty choice or good intention, as the enlighteners and utilitarians believed. This is the process of formation of such a social order, unfolding in history, in which the satisfaction of the general interest is carried out through the activities of people pursuing their private interests.

Just as the exclusive reliance on “healthiness” of selfishness leads in practice to an apology for selfishness, so the striving for a strong-willed assertion of the common interest as the real interest of all members of society leads to a hidden preferential satisfaction of the interests of that social group that proclaims concern for the common interest as its goal, and ... to the equal poverty of the majority of the people who are the subject of this concern. Although in the Enlightenment reasonable egoism appears as a doctrine designed to liberate a person, already in the middle of the last century it began to be perceived as a peculiar form of curbing and regulating the individual will. F.M. Dostoevsky, as already noted, through the mouth of his unfortunate hero in Notes from the Underground, asked about the real meaning of bringing any act of a person under reasonable grounds. It is worth thinking about the requirements that are supposed to be an expression of "reasonableness", as the possibility of reducing the entire variety of personal manifestations to some bare, soulless standard becomes obvious. Dostoevsky also noted the psychological vulnerability of relying on the rationalization of selfish aspirations: in the teaching of rational egoistic morality, the peculiarity of moral thinking as thinking is individual and preferably unaccountable; one has only to point to the "rules of reason" and they will be rejected from the mere "feeling of personality", from the spirit of contradiction, from the desire to determine for oneself what is useful and necessary. Other aspects that are unexpected for enlightenment, or romantic, rationalism in the problem of "reasonableness" are revealed by philosophers of our time, who by no means claim to be rationalism in its classical versions: what the inventive and sophisticated human mind has not thought of. Take, for example, such an indispensable element of the state as a system of punishment (not necessarily in such an extensive form as the Gulag, or in such a rationalized form as Nazi concentration camps-crematoria), - even in the most civilized modern prison there are enough “thought-out abominable trifles”, testifying to such a variety in the applications of the human mind, which suggests restraint and criticality in exalting the products of the mind only on the grounds that they are products of the mind.

In an explicit or implicit form, the doctrine of enlightened egoism presupposed a fundamental coincidence of people's interests due to the unity of human nature. However, the idea of ​​the unity of human nature turns out to be speculative in explaining those cases where the implementation of the interests of various individuals is associated with the achievement of a certain good that cannot be shared (for example, in a situation where several people are included in a competition for a scholarship to study at a university, or two firms with the same product tend to penetrate the same regional market). Neither reliance on mutual benevolence, nor reliance on wise legislation or sensible organization of affairs will contribute to the resolution of a conflict of interest.

author Akutagawa Ryunosuke

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Selfishness (?goisme) Not love for oneself, but the inability to love anyone else, or the ability to love another solely for one's own good. That is why I consider selfishness one of the deadly sins (self-love, in my opinion, is rather a virtue) and the fundamental basis

Who is an egoist? This is a person whose views, interests and behavior completely revolve around his own "I" and are directed solely to his own good. Egoism is most easily revealed in a situation that puts a person before a choice - to satisfy their own interests or to sacrifice them for the sake of another person. What else is selfishness?

Types of selfishness

Each of us was told in childhood that being selfish is bad. And in the end, we learned how to cunningly turn the situation in our favor, telling a person: “You are an egoist! You don't consider my interests at all!" But after all, in this way we ourselves show selfishness, without even noticing it.

In fact, selfishness is neither good nor bad. This is absolutely natural for a person who has a healthy psyche and normal self-esteem. To condemn another for selfishness is stupid - one can only condemn the degree of manifestation of this quality.

Therefore, three main types of selfishness can be distinguished:

Overegoism. Something from the series "all women are like women, but I'm a goddess."

Self-deprecation. Such a person constantly says: “Oh my God, just look at what a nonentity I am!”

Healthy selfishness is the golden mean between the two extremes. A person understands both his own and other people's needs and strives for their mutual satisfaction.

The main signs of unhealthy selfishness

Try looking at your friends. Surely among them there is at least one notorious egoist. How will it differ from others?

• He does not take on a case that will not bring him benefit.
• Whatever you talk to him about, one way or another you will have to discuss his outstanding personality.
• He believes that there are only two opinions - his and the wrong one.
• Knows how to find a way out of difficult situations with the help of others.
• He is indifferent to everyone except himself.
• He hopes that others will give in, but he himself will not compromise.
• In someone else's eye he will notice a mote, in his own he will not see a log.
• In any of his actions, he tries to find a benefit or frankly demands it.

Consequences of selfishness

Some individuals believe that egoists live very well in modern society. And what, they are doing the right thing: they go ahead, think only about themselves, and in fact they achieve success! But in reality, the laws of human relations have a negative effect on those people who will not lift a finger without personal gain.

Sooner or later, others will turn away from the egoist, as his behavior is socially unacceptable. He will not be able to start a normal serious relationship with anyone - the matter will always be limited to only superficial contacts. Loneliness is the most terrible retribution for selfishness.

What is healthy selfishness?

You have absolutely healthy egoism if:

• you know how to defend your point of view, refusing what, in your opinion, can harm you;
• willing to compromise;
• you can defend yourself by any means if a threat of danger hangs over you or your loved ones;
• obey no one, but do not control others either;
• make a choice in your own favor, without being tormented by guilt;
• pay attention primarily to your own interests, but at the same time you understand that there is another way of looking at things;
• do not be afraid to express your own opinion, even if it contradicts the opinion of the majority;
• can criticize others without stooping to insults;
• respect your partner's wishes, but also consider your own principles.

Thus, by reflecting on the topic of how egoism manifests itself, you can learn a lot about yourself and your friends. The main thing is not to cross the line of healthy egoism, and then both those around you and yourself will be satisfied.

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The word "egoist" in our society is considered abusive, because since childhood, that you can’t think only about yourself, but you need to share with others and give in. With age, the attitude that selfishness is bad becomes more and more strengthened in the mind of the child, because both parents and teachers tell him that respectable people take care of the needs and comfort of others and work for the good of society, and do not live by their own interests. Therefore, it is natural that the majority of adult men and women do not want to appear selfish in the eyes of society and often, to the detriment of their own interests, realize the desires of others.

Altruistic behavior, compliance and sacrificing one's own interests for the sake of the needs of others are encouraged by public opinion, so many ordinary citizens are confident that selfishness is a character trait that needs to be eradicated. Meanwhile, more and more psychologists and psychotherapists are changing their minds towards egoism and claim that being an egoist is absolutely normal for every mentally healthy person. Connoisseurs of human souls are inclined to think that people should not suppress their selfish aspirations and not sacrifice their own needs for the sake of others, but nevertheless, selfishness must be "reasonable". Let's try to figure out, in fact, selfishness - is it bad or good? And what is the difference between reasonable egoism and not reasonable?

Who are the egoists?

Before considering the question of whether selfishness is a bad or a good character trait, it is necessary to determine who the egoists are. The word in the dictionary egoism is interpreted as a character trait that forms a type of behavior in which a person is aimed at satisfying his own needs and needs and puts his own interests above the interests of others. That is, egoists are people who live as they want and do what they want, without taking into account the desires of others. Egoism in the common people is often confused with egocentrism, but in fact these concepts are not identical.

Egocentrism is characterized by a person's inability to perceive any opinion that differs from his point of view. Based on this definition, we can conclude that egocentrism can be inherent in an egoist, but not always, because many people who put their interests above the needs of others can still listen to others, perceive their arguments, admit mistakes and change their point of view.

Complete the opposite of selfishness is altruism - the willingness to do selfless acts for the benefit of other people, without taking into account personal interests and desires. Altruism and selfishness are, at first glance, complete opposites, however, in fact, both of these character traits are inherent in almost all people to one degree or another, since in some situations even the most kind and selfless can behave selfishly, and in some cases they can even be selfish. capable of altruistic deeds.

Is selfishness good or bad?

Nature is designed in such a way that everything living beings are primarily guided by instincts aimed at survival and the preservation of the species, and this rule is no exception. Both animals and people instinctively strive to realize their own needs and are ready to compete with representatives of their own and other species for the right to possess resources. That's why selfishness is an innate trait of a person's character, since it is he who allows you to realize the needs associated with the provision of life and the establishment of one's own status in society.

However, people are a social species, and in isolation from society, the development of a person's personality is impossible. It was in order to make the life of each individual in society comfortable that the so-called social contracts were formed - unwritten rules and norms that regulate the interaction of members of society with each other. Altruism, mutual assistance, guardianship and protection of the weakest, and conflict resolution through compromise are important components of the social contract. in human society, as they provide a comfortable and safe life for each member of society individually.

Based on the foregoing, it becomes clear that selfish behavior is the norm for a person, however, each member of society must restrain his selfish impulses, to . And the most important thing for every person is to be able to find a balance between egoism and altruism in such a way as to be able to realize their needs and goals and at the same time not infringe on others.

Distortions in behavior, both in the direction of egoism and altruism, are always fraught with negative consequences for the individual.. A person who always adheres to a selfish line of behavior and infringes on the interests of others, sooner or later runs the risk of becoming an outcast in society and losing all friends and relatives, since no one will tolerate a notorious egoist for a long time. And people who are always ready to give up their own interests for the sake of others can very quickly turn out to be, as they will begin to use their kindness without giving anything in return. A striking example of what excessive altruism leads to is women who are in relationships with tyrants, alcoholics and drug addicts. These women spend their time and vitality trying to please their partner and save him, but in the end they have only a crippled psyche and undermined physical health.

It's obvious that egoism is a necessary character trait for every person, since it is he who allows people to realize their needs, achieve your goals and find your happiness. But still, each person must behave in such a way that, while satisfying his desires, he does not infringe on other members of society. And it is precisely this line of behavior that modern psychologists call rational egoism.

What is intelligent selfishness?

According to psychologists, reasonable egoism is a strategy of behavior in which a person makes active efforts to self-development and achieve their goals, without prejudice to the interests of others and without coming into conflict with society. And the main differences between reasonable egoism and excessive are the following:

Reasonable egoism is an ideal balance between innate egoism and altruism acquired in the process of socialization. And more and more psychologists recommend that their clients develop precisely this strategy of behavior, and not deny their own egoism. According to experts, reasonable egoism is precisely the form of thinking and behavior that allows a person to live in harmony with himself and the world around him, realize his goals and find his place in society.

EGOISM IS REASONABLE- an ethical doctrine, suggesting that: a) all human actions are based on an egoistic motive (wishing good for oneself); b) reason allows you to select from the total volume of motives those that constitute a correctly understood personal interest, i.e. allows you to discover the core of those egoistic motivations that correspond to the rational nature of man and the social nature of his life. The result of this is an ethical-normative program, which, while maintaining a single (egoistic) basis of behavior, assumes that it is ethically obligatory not only to take into account the interests of other individuals, but also to commit acts aimed at the common good (for example, good deeds). At the same time, reasonable egoism can be limited to stating that the desire for one's own benefit contributes to the benefit of others, and thus sanction a narrowly pragmatic moral position.

In Antiquity, during the period of the birth of this model of ethical reasoning, it retains its peripheral character. Even Aristotle, who developed it most fully, assigns it the role of just one of the components friendship . He believes that "the virtuous must be selfish", and explains self-sacrifice in terms of the maximum pleasure associated with virtue. The reception in the Renaissance of ancient ethical ideas (first of all, Epicureanism, with an emphasis on the pursuit of pleasure) is accompanied, for example, by L. Valla with the requirement to “learn to enjoy the benefits of other people.”

The theory of rational egoism is being developed both in the French and in the Anglo-Scottish Enlightenment - most clearly in A. Smith and Helvetia . Smith combines in a single concept of human nature the idea of ​​an economic man and a moral man. According to Helvetius, a rational balance between the egoistic passion of the individual and the public good cannot develop naturally. Only a dispassionate legislator, with the help of state power, using rewards and punishments, can ensure the benefit of "the largest possible number of people" and make the basis of virtue "the benefit of an individual."

The doctrine of reasonable egoism received a detailed development in the later works of L. Feuerbach. Morality, according to Feuerbach, is based on a sense of self-satisfaction from the satisfaction of the Other - the main model of his concept is the relationship of the sexes. Feuerbach tries to reduce even seemingly anti-Eudemonistic moral actions (primarily self-sacrifice) to the action of a rational-egoistic principle: if the happiness of the I necessarily presupposes the satisfaction of the You, then the desire for happiness, as the most powerful motive, is able to resist even self-preservation.

The reasonable-egoistic concept of Η.G. Chernyshevsky is based on such an anthropological interpretation of the subject, according to which the true expression of utility, identical to good, consists in “the benefit of a person in general”. Due to this, when private, corporate and universal interests collide, the latter should prevail. However, due to the rigid dependence of the human will on external circumstances and the impossibility of satisfying higher needs before satisfying the simplest ones, a reasonable correction of egoism, in his opinion, will be effective only if the structure of society is completely altered.

In 19th century philosophy ideas related to the concept of rational egoism were expressed by I. Bentham, J.S. Mill, G. Spencer, G. Sidgwick. From the 50s. 20th century reasonable egoism began to be considered in the context of the concept of "ethical egoism". Consonant provisions are contained in the prescriptivism of R. Hear. A detailed criticism of the theories of rational egoism is presented in the works of F. Hutcheson, I. Kant, G. F. W. Hegel, J. E. Moore.

A.V. Prokofiev