Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Self interest

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Self-interest

Self-interest generally refers to a focus on the needs or desires (interests) of the self. A number of philosophical, psychological, and economic theories examine the role of self-interest in motivating human action.

Contents

In philosophy

Philosophical concepts concerned with self-interest include:

  • Enlightened self-interest, a philosophy which states that acting to further the interests of others also serves one's own self-interest.
  • Ethical egoism, the ethical position that moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-interest.
  • Hedonism, the school of ethics which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good.
  • Epicureanism, a philosophical system related to hedonism.
  • Individualism, a philosophy stressing the worth of individual selves.
  • Rational egoism, the position that all rational actions are those done in one's self-interest.

    • In psychology

    Psychological concepts concerned with self-interest include psychological egoism, the view that humans are always motivated by self-interest, and narcissism, which is an unhealthy self-absorption due to a disturbance in the sense of self.

    References

    Self-interest Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA