What is Egoistic Altruism….
In this article, we shall go through the concepts of egoism, altruism and egoistic altruism…. Let’s start with egoism….
Egoism
egotism
/ˈɛɡətɪz(ə)m,ˈiːɛɡətɪz(ə)m/
noun: the fact of being excessively conceited or absorbed in oneself….
An egoist is basically a person whose actions and decisions are taken solely centred on himself.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia states of egoism that
it “incorporates in itself certain basic truths: it is natural for man to love himself; he should moreover do so, since each one is ultimately responsible for himself; pleasure, the development of one’s potentialities, and the acquisition of power are normally desirable….”
But egoism has a negative association in society.
Terms like ‘egotistical’ and ‘egocentric’ are often used to describe rude selfish people.
But egoism is not really about being selfish. It’s about giving importance and priority to oneself.
A selfish person would make an extra effort to snatch something from others to benefit himself. But an egoist wouldn’t do that as he is concerned with himself, not getting what others have.
Even if egoism seems like being selfish, there’s something one cannot deny.
At the end of the day, it’s every man for himself.
Altruism
altruism
/ˈaltruːɪz(ə)m/
noun: disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others
Basically, an altruist is a person who values the needs and well being of others other himself.
The term ‘altruism’ was coined by Aguste Comte, the founding sociologist and philosopher of science.
Altruism in a biological setting would be an organism performing an act that doesn’t benefit itself but directly or indirectly benefits other organisms.
Altruism comes from the concept that everyone is morally obliged to benefit others since everyone is directly or indirectly dependent on others.
Altruism is often contrasted with egoism, which is about serving oneself.
But in between the two extremes of solely serving others or altruism and solely serving oneself or egoism, there is a balance.
And it’s the right balance we should strive for…
Egoistic Altruism
Some say egoism is too selfish and can hurt the harmony of a society.
Some say altruism in its true sense is impractical as ultimate one has to take care of himself as well.
But, what if there were a balance and middle ground of these two seemingly polar opposite ideologies.
Actually, there are two:
- Altruistic Egoism
- Egoistic Altruism
Egoistic altruism is the ideology that by serving oneself, one also benefits society.
In simpler terms, egoistic altruism is about living by example. Being better than the rest and hence indirectly forcing others to be better in order to catch up.
Once you show your peers that there are better ways to do something and be better by actually doing it and improving yourself, they are bound to at least try to catch up. It’s the basic nature of every conscious being to be the better option in a peer group. And this effect starts to ripple across the entire society.
Watch the video to know more: https://youtu.be/Si84h35fSq0