Theory of reasonable egoism: a description, essence and basic concept

When the theory of rational egoism begins to be touched in the dialogues of philosophers, the name of Chernyshevsky NG, the many-sided and great writer, philosopher, historian, materialist and critic, involuntarily emerges. Nikolai Gavrilovich absorbed all the best - a persistent character, an irresistible zeal for freedom, a clear and rational mind. The theory of intelligent egoism of Chernyshevsky is another step in the development of philosophy.

Definition

By reasonable egoism one should understand the philosophical position that establishes for each individual the primacy of personal interests over the interests of other people and society as a whole.

The question arises: how does rational egoism differ from egoism in its direct sense? Supporters of reasonable selfishness argue that the egoist thinks only of himself. While it is unprofitable for prudent egoism to neglect other personalities, and simply it is not a selfish attitude to everything, but merely manifests as short-sightedness, and sometimes even as stupidity.

In other words, reasonable egoism can be called the ability to live your interests or opinions, not contradicting the opinion of others.

A bit of history

Reasonable selfishness begins to emerge in the ancient period, when Aristotle gave him the role of one of the components of the problem of friendship.

Further, in the period of the French Enlightenment, Helvetius views rational egoism as the impossibility of coexisting a meaningful balance between the egocentric passion of man and the public goods.

A more detailed study of this issue was given to Feuerbach L. In his opinion, the virtue of man is based on the feeling of one's own satisfaction from the satisfaction of another person.

Chernyshevsky received a profound study of the theory of rational egoism. It relied on the interpretation of the egoism of the individual as an expression of the usefulness of man as a whole. Proceeding from this, if corporate, private and universal interests collide, then the latter should dominate.

The views of Chernyshevsky

His path the philosopher and writer began with Hegel, telling all that belongs only to him. Adhering to Hegel's philosophy and views, Chernyshevsky nevertheless rejects his conservatism. And having become acquainted with his writings in the original, he begins to reject his views and sees in Hegel's philosophy a continuous flaw:

• Hegel's creator of reality was an absolute spirit and an absolute idea.
• Reason and idea were the driving forces of development.
• Hegel's conservatism and his adherence to the feudal-absolutist system of the country.

As a result, Chernyshevsky began to emphasize the duality of Hegel's theory and criticize him as a philosopher. Science continued to develop, and the Hegelian philosophy for the writer became obsolete and lost its meaning.

From Hegel to Feuerbach

Not satisfied with Hegel's philosophy, Chernyshevsky turned to the works of L. Feuerbach, which subsequently led him to call the philosopher his teacher.

In his work The Essence of Christianity, Feuerbach argues that nature and human thought exist separately from each other, and the higher being created by man's religion and imagination is a reflection of his own individual essence. This theory greatly inspired Chernyshevsky, and he found in it what he was looking for.

And even being in exile, he wrote to his sons about the perfect philosophy of Feuerbach and that he remained his faithful follower.

The essence of the theory of reasonable selfishness

The theory of rational egoism in Chernyshevsky's works was directed against religion, theological morality and idealism. According to the writer, the individual loves only himself. And it is self-love that motivates people to act.

Nikolai Gavrilovich in his works says that in the intentions of people there can not exist several different natures and all the set of human desires to act comes from one nature, according to one law. The name to this law is reasonable egoism.

All human actions are based on the individual's thoughts about his personal benefit and good. For example, it may be considered reasonable selfishness to sacrifice one's own life for the sake of love or friendship, for the sake of any interests. Even in this action lies a personal calculation and an outburst of selfishness.

What is the theory of rational egoism according to Chernyshevsky? The fact that the personal interests of people do not disagree with the public and do not contradict them, benefiting others. Only such principles were accepted and tried to convey to others by the writer.

The theory of rational egoism is briefly preached by Chernyshevsky as the theory of "new people".

The basic concept of theory

The theory of rational egoism evaluates the benefits of human relationships and the choice of the most profitable of them. From the theoretical point of view, the manifestation of selflessness, charity and charity is absolutely meaningless. The meaning is only those manifestations of these qualities that lead to PR, profit, and so on.

By reasonable egoism is understood the ability to find a middle ground between personal abilities and the needs of others. In this case, each individual comes solely out of love for himself. But having a mind, a person understands that if he thinks only of himself, he will face a huge number of problems, wanting only to satisfy his personal needs. As a consequence, individuals come to personal restriction. But this is again not because of love for others, but because of love for oneself. Therefore, in this case it is advisable to talk about a reasonable egoism.

Theory in the novel "What to do?"

Since the central idea of Chernyshevsky's theory was life in the name of another person, this is what united the heroes of his novel What Is To Be Done?

The theory of rational egoism in the novel What Is To Be Done? Is expressed in nothing else than in the ethical expression of the need for mutual assistance and the unification of people. This is what connects the heroes of the novel. The source of happiness for them is service to the people and the success of that cause, which is the meaning of their life.

Principles of the theory are applicable to the personal life of heroes. Chernyshevsky showed how the social face of the individual is fully manifested in love.

An uneducated person may think that the philistine selfishness of the heroine of the novel Marya Alekseevna is very close to the egoism of "new people". But its essence is only that it is aimed at a natural striving for goodness and happiness. The single benefit of the individual must correspond to the public interests, identified with the interests of the working people.

Lonely happiness does not exist. The happiness of one individual depends on the happiness of all and the general welfare in society.

Chernyshevsky as a philosopher never defended egoism in its direct meaning. The rational egoism of the heroes of the novel identifies its benefits with the benefit of other people. For example, by freeing Verochka from domestic oppression, saving her from the need to marry out of love and making sure that she loves Kirsanov, Lopukhov goes into the shadows. This is one of the examples of the manifestation of reasonable egoism in Chernyshevsky's novel.

The theory of rational egoism is the philosophical basis of the novel, where there is no place for selfishness, self-interest and individualism. The center of the novel is a person, his rights, his benefits. This writer urged to abandon the destructive accumulation in order to achieve true human happiness, no matter how unfavorable the conditions may have burdened his life.

Despite the fact that the novel was written in the 19th century, its foundations are also applicable in the modern world.