Terminology Tuesday: Egoism
Egoism: The theory that humans do or should seek only their own individual happiness. Psychological egoism holds that as a matter of fact people seek always and only their own good. Moral egoism holds that it is right or good that humans should act in this way. Ayn Rand’s novels provide a dramatic illustration and defense of egoism. Traditional Christian teaching, in contrast, has condemned universal egoism as a form of sinful selfishness, to be distinguished from a proper regard for one’s self and its needs.1
1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 38.