Selfism: Difference between revisions
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#REDIRECT [[Selfishness#Selfism]] |
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{{Short description|Favorability of selfish principles}} |
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{{wiktionary}} |
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{{original research|date=January 2019}} |
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{{merge to|Selfishness|date=September 2023|discuss=Talk:Selfism#Proposed merge with Paul Vitz}} |
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'''Selfism''' refers to any philosophy, theory, doctrine, or tendency that upholds explicitly [[selfish]] principles as being desirable. The term is usually used [[pejoratively]]. |
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==Definition== |
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The term "selfism" was used by [[Paul Vitz]] in his 1977 book ''Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship''. Vitz deconstructs the selfist movement(s) and tries to uphold [[God]]-centered [[Altruism (ethics)|altruism]], and claims that all of modern-day [[liberalism]] and [[leftism]] are essentially selfist at their core. He lays the blame predominantly at the feet of [[Erik Erikson]], [[Erich Fromm]], and other prominent psychologists of the third quarter of the 20th century (c. 1950–1975 CE). |
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Explicit selfishness as a desirable end and moral good had diverse manifestations during that period, for example, in the writings of [[David Seabury]], [[Ayn Rand]], and even among some of Rand's near-opposites, such as Erikson and Fromm. Rand called her philosophy [[Objectivism]]. Later popularizers of similar positions include [[Nathaniel Branden]], [[Paul Lepanto]], [[Robert Ringer]], [[Harry Browne]], and [[David Kelley]], among others. None of these named the system they espoused "selfism" or characterized it as "selfist", although both Seabury and Rand included the word "selfishness" in the titles of books presenting their views. Many of these figures were pro-[[Capitalism|capitalist]] [[Secularism|secularists]] ("[[Atheism|atheist]] capitalists"), but Seabury was a [[Christians|Christian]], while Erickson and Fromm were prominent [[Leftism|leftists]]. |
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[[Anton LaVey]], founder of the [[Church of Satan]] and author of ''[[The Satanic Bible]]'', acknowledges [[Ayn Rand]] and [[Objectivism]] as a source of inspiration for [[LaVeyan Satanism]]. This form of Satanism holds the [[self]] above all else in similar fashion to Objectivism. Despite some similarities, they remain separate entities, as there are clear differences between the two concepts.<ref>{{cite web |
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| author =Nemo |
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| authorlink = |
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| title =Satanism and Objectivism |
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| publisher =Hell's Kitchen Productions |
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| date =27 Dec 2014 |
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| url =http://churchofsatan.com/satanism-and-objectivism.php |
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| format = |
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| doi = |
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| accessdate = 27 Dec 2014 |
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| archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20141001000926/http://www.churchofsatan.com/satanism-and-objectivism.php |
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| archivedate = 1 October 2014}}</ref> |
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==Origins of selfist thought== |
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Some early examples of "selfist" thinking are the [[Ethical egoism|egoistic]] philosophies of [[Yangism]] in [[ancient China]] and of [[Cyrenaic]] [[hedonism]] in [[ancient Greece]]. Yangists followed the teachings of [[Yang Zhu]] and might have been influenced by [[Taoism]]. [[Cyrenaics]], founded by [[Aristippus of Cyrene]], were [[Religious skepticism|skeptics]] and [[Materialism|materialists]] (but perhaps nominally Greek [[Paganism|pagans]]). [[Thomas Hobbes]], who could also be viewed as ''selfist'', was a [[Materialism|materialist]] but also advocated loyalty to a strong government and [[state church]]. The views of [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] and [[Max Stirner]] provide a more proximate link to the modern selfists. |
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==See also== |
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{{columns-list|colwidth=22em| |
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* [[Egoism]] |
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* [[Egoist anarchism]] |
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* [[Egotism]] |
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* [[Hedonism]] |
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* [[Human Potential Movement]] |
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* [[Individualism]] |
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* [[Individualist anarchism]] |
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* [[New Age spirituality]] |
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* [[Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche]] |
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* [[Philosophy of Max Stirner]] |
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* [[Psychological egoism]] |
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* [[Rational egoism]] |
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* [[Secular humanism]] |
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* [[Thelema]] |
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}} |
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==References== |
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'''Sources''' |
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{{Reflist}} |
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'''Further reading''' |
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* ''[[The Virtue of Selfishness]]''. [[Ayn Rand]], {{ISBN|0451163931}}. |
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* David Seabury. ''The Art of Selfishness'' (1990, 1971). |
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* Paul Vitz. ''Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-worship'' (2nd ed., Eerdmans, 1994, original ed., 1977) (W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI) |
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[[Category:Egoism]] |
[[Category:Egoism]] |
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Latest revision as of 15:16, 23 June 2024
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