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Egoism

Эгоизм - сущность, истоки, коррекция Egoism is the system of values of the person which is characterized by dominance of personal needs in relation to interests and needs of other person or social group. At the same time the satisfaction of own interests is considered as the highest blessing. In psychological and ethical theories egoism is considered inborn property which needs to be overcome.

Theories of egoism

It is possible to allocate two main approaches to an egoism problem:

The person can by nature aim at pleasure, avoiding sufferings;
The person in the moral activity has to follow personal interests.

In ancient philosophy the thought was expressed that people are selfish since the birth, and any morality from this has to proceed. In the peak of the feudal and Christian morals preaching refusal of wordly pleasures, the French materialists claimed, after Democritus and Epicurus that morality is generated by exclusively terrestrial interests of people.

The essence of the ethical concept of "reasonable egoism" was that people have to satisfy the requirements "reasonably", then they will not contradict interests of individuals and societies in general, and, on the contrary, will begin to serve them. By the end of the 19th century this theory regenerated in establishment of a basic priority of personal needs over any other. In ordinary consciousness reasonable egoism is an ability to live own interests, without neglecting values of surrounding people as it is short-sighted and unprofitable for one reason or another.

The theory of social exchange puts forward in favor of egoism arguments according to which people consciously or unconsciously want to earn the greatest possible reward with the minimum expenses. Follows from this theory that any acts are made on egoistical motives to receive optimum encouragement or to avoid punishment. Implicit benefit to which actions altruistic at first sight are dictated consists in receiving social approval, increase in a self-assessment, disposal of feeling of alarm or a remorse. Such approach to a problem of egoism does not consider that an ultimate goal of the egoist is improvement of own situation, and the altruist – care of other person. Such phenomena as unconditional love, sympathy and empathy or are not taken into account, or artificially keep within the theory Procrustean bed.

Эгоизм - когда свои личные интересы важнее общественных As egoism can be opposed to altruism, there is a number of theories according to which egoism and arguments in its advantage can become invalid for various reasons. For example, the concept of social norms recognizes that assistance is connected with existence in the society of certain rules which force to refuse egoistical behavior for their execution. The standard of reciprocity induces the person to answer with good, but not the evil, that who came to the rescue of it. The standard of social responsibility orders to care for those who need it, irrespective of the spent time and the official message of thanks received in exchange.

Egoism quite often receives negative assessment of society, and is considered to be the conscious choice of such strategy of behavior immoral. This quality is condemned at all levels: in philosophy, religion, a state system and in everyday life.

It is considered that egoism begins to dominate if tactics of education is directed to fixing of high self-esteem and an egocentrism. As a result permanent orientation to personal experiences, interests and requirements forms. Afterwards the self-love and indifference to other people and their inner world can lead to loneliness, and the world around will be perceived as hostile.

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