However, I’ve been an egoist for as long as I can remember,
I’m not entirely sure what this position entails. Wikipedia sent me to ‘egotist’ and here. I am curious because it seems like quite a statement to use a term so similar to an epithet to describe one’s own philosophy.
The distinction between egoism and egotism is an oft-mixed-up one. An egotist is simply someone who is overly concerned with themselves; egoism is a somewhat more precise term, referring to a system of ethics (and there are many) in which the intended beneficiary of an action “ought” (a word that Eliezer did much to demystify for me) to be the actor.
The most famous egoist system of ethics is probably Ayn Rand’s Objectivism, of which I am by no means a follower, although I’ve read all of her non-fiction.
I’m not entirely sure what this position entails. Wikipedia sent me to ‘egotist’ and here. I am curious because it seems like quite a statement to use a term so similar to an epithet to describe one’s own philosophy.
The distinction between egoism and egotism is an oft-mixed-up one. An egotist is simply someone who is overly concerned with themselves; egoism is a somewhat more precise term, referring to a system of ethics (and there are many) in which the intended beneficiary of an action “ought” (a word that Eliezer did much to demystify for me) to be the actor.
The most famous egoist system of ethics is probably Ayn Rand’s Objectivism, of which I am by no means a follower, although I’ve read all of her non-fiction.
See the article on ethical egoism.