In Praise of an Egotistic Philosophy

ego·tism
1 a: excessive use of the first person singular personal pronoun b: the practice of talking about oneself too much
2: an exaggerated sense of self-importance : conceit — compare egoism Merriam-Webster online dictionary

In other words, me, me, me, me, me!

Yes, so why an egotistic philosophy?

How can egotism - the practice of talking about oneself too much - be of value as a philosophy to a person and to mankind?

I remember my philosophy teacher five years ago saying how the "moi" can be despairingly irksome to others. Who can stand a person who breaks in every conversation - be it about the weather or a complicated relationship - by saying "I think that", "In my opinion", "in my case" or "it has been my experience"?

The "moi" becomes a threat to the harmony of a community as it pulls to much energy inwardly instead of productively using that energy externally. This is beautifully represented in Orwell's 1984 which brings forth a form of groupthink one must adhere to if one does not want to raise suspicion from the authorities and break social cohesion. As a side note, we can notice the "moi" is a threat as long as we are not in a capitalist society where knowing what a "me" wants can mean profit! ;)

I listened to a lecture given by French philosopher Michel Onfray about the XIXth century as the Century of the Moi. I found his ideas worth exploring.

He analyzes the XIXth century as being a time where two different - almost opposite - approaches to life existed.

• Social eudaimonism.
• To develop and contribute to a socio-economic system enabling the happiness of all is the ultimate project.
• Stuart Mill's social liberalism, Bentham's Panoptic capitalism, Owen's communist community, William Godwin's anarchist Protestantism, Bakounin's anarchist United States of Europe.
  
• Capitalism, liberalism, socialism, communism, anarchism.
• Plato's Republic. Social order is for the general interest, for the good of the people.
• Politics need to be there first for Ethics to develop
  
• Existential radicalism.
  
• The pragmatic concern of living a philosophical life is the priority. Universal solutions can only be found by first examining ourselves.
  
• Nietzsche, Thoreau, Emerson, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer.
• Individualistic, Egotistic.
• Socrates's "know thyself",
  
• Ethics need to be there first for Politics to develop.
  

There undeniably exists an egotistic philosophical tradition. This is most obvious with the diary medium for expressing ideas. Marcus Aurelius - a favorite of mine - jots down his thoughts in his emperor's tent late at night during a military campaign. The result: beautiful meditations about life, ruling and virtue. Augustine, almost single-handedly founds Christian theology by writing his Confessions. Schopenhauer, at the age of 19, travels across Europe with his parents and writes a diary which contains almost the totality of ideas found in the rest of his work. One cannot forget Montaigne's and Francis Bacon's essays which seem to reveal truths about ourselves with each reading. Thoreau, the philosopher and "ecosopher"; his only company was himself, and he lyrically writes about individualism, society and nature, after a day of chopping kindle near Walden Pond. Sitting down to express our thoughts means we formulate them, give them structure and coherence so they can be written down. Insight about ourselves and the world follow.

More generally than writing a diary, egotism almost always precedes constructive thought. In Maieutics - the Socratic method of investigation - Socrates often encourages people to explore themselves, to face their inconsistencies and reveal perhaps a lack of integrity. By not running away from ourselves, we face painful reality and can mature our thought on our way to uncovering Truth.

Self-examination! How can anyone have a philosophical life without self-examination?

It is when we take the time to examine our suffering, our behavior, our responses, our feelings, that we can learn to develop empathy and a sensitivity to others by perceiving what is universal. Art is usually the result of self-examination. Philosophy is primarily meant to be lived not theorized. Analyzing the day gone by and sorting the information ("that was nice, that was bad"), improves who we will be tomorrow if we have the discipline. This is what philosophy as a daily practice is. It gives us awareness of what we do and whether it is good and bad for us and others, it gets us out of destructive ruts to create room for self-improvement.

I often clash with people who believe that it is a waste of time to try to create a change in the world by egotistically first focusing on ourselves. Sculpting a lifestyle as an embodiment of values seems ridiculous to them.

How can we know what to do for the general good, if we don't even take the time to learn about what is good for us? Know thyself, learn, grow and adjust. Be egotistical in that sense, make your main concern you.

Cultivate your lifestyle - with the same zeal as the dandy -, be brave enough to become congruent with your self.