Egotism - Wikipedia Egotism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Not to be confused with Egoism. For the 1843 short story, see Egotism; or, The Bosom-Serpent. For other uses, see Egoist (disambiguation). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Egotism" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Egotism is defined as the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself, and generally features an inflated opinion of one's personal features and importance distinguished by a persons amplified vision of ones self and self importance. It often includes intellectual, physical, social and other overestimations.[1] The egotist has an overwhelming sense of the centrality of the "Me" regarding their personal qualities.[2] Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Development 3 Sex 4 Etymology 5 Cultural examples 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links Characteristics[edit] Egotism is closely related to an egocentric love for one's imagined self or narcissism – indeed some would say "by egotism we may envisage a kind of socialized narcissism".[3] Egotists have a strong tendency to talk about themselves in a self-promoting fashion, and they may well be arrogant and boastful with a grandiose sense of their own importance.[4] Their inability to recognise the accomplishments of others[5] leaves them profoundly self-promoting; while sensitivity to criticism may lead on the egotist's part to narcissistic rage at a sense of insult.[6] Egotism differs from both altruism – or behaviour motivated by the concern for others rather than for oneself – and from egoism, the constant pursuit of one's self-interest. Various forms of "empirical egoism" have been considered consistent with egotism, but do not – which is also the case with egoism in general – necessitate having an inflated sense of self.[7] Development[edit] In developmental terms, two rather different trajectories can be distinguished with respect to egotism – the one individual, the other cultural. With respect to the developing individual, a movement takes place from egocentricity to sociality during the process of growing up.[8] It is normal for an infant to have an inflated – almost a majestic – sense of egotism.[9] The over-evaluation of one's own ego[10] regularly appears in childish forms of love – in large part because the baby is to himself everything, omnipotent to the best of their own knowledge.[11] Optimal development allows a gradual reconciliation to a more realistic view of one's own place in the world – a lessening of the egotistical swollen head.[12] Less adequate adjustment may later lead to what has been called defensive egotism, serving to overcompensate for the fragility of the underlying concept of self.[13] Robin Skynner however considered that in the main growing up leads to a state where "your ego is still there, but it's taking its proper limited place among all the other egos".[14] However, alongside such a positive trajectory of diminishing individual egotism, a rather different arc of development can be noted in cultural terms, linked to what has been seen as the increasing infantilism of post-modern society.[15] Whereas in the nineteenth century egotism was still widely regarded as a traditional vice – for Nathaniel Hawthorne egotism was a sort of diseased self-contemplation[16] – Romanticism had already set in motion a countervailing current, what Richard Eldridge described as a kind of "cultural egotism, substituting the individual imagination for vanishing social tradition".[17] The romantic idea of the self-creating individual – of a self-authorizing, artistic egotism[18] – then took on broader social dimensions in the following century. Keats might still attack Wordsworth for the regressive nature of his retreat into the egotistical sublime;[19] but by the close of the twentieth century egotism had been naturalized much more widely by the Me generation into the Culture of Narcissism. In the 21st century, romantic egotism has been seen as feeding into techno-capitalism in two complementary ways:[20] on the one hand, through the self-centred consumer, focused on their own self-fashioning through brand 'identity'; on the other through the equally egotistical voices of 'authentic' protest, as they rage against the machine, only to produce new commodity forms that serve to fuel the system for further consumption. Sex[edit] There is a question mark over the relationship between sex and egotism. Sigmund Freud popularly made the claim that love can transform the egotist,[21] giving him or her a new sense of humility in relation to others.[22] At the same time, it is very apparent that egotism can readily show itself in sexual ways[23] and indeed arguably one's whole sexuality may function in the service of egotistical needs.[24] Etymology[edit] The term egotism is derived from the Greek ("εγώ") and subsequently its Latinised ego (ego), meaning "self" or "I," and -ism, used to denote a system of belief. As such, the term shares early etymology with egoism. Cultural examples[edit] A. A. Milne has been praised for his clear-eyed vision of the ruthless, open, unashamed egotism of the young child.[25] Ryan Holiday described our cultural values as dependent on validation, entitled, and ruled by our emotions, a form of egotism.[26] See also[edit] Philosophy portal Ahamkara Egocentrism Ego ideal Egomania Elitism Ethical egoism Grandiosity Hubris Implicit egotism Megalomania Narcissistic elation Narcissistic personality disorder Pride Psychological egoism Psychopathy Rational egoism Selfishness Solipsism Spoiled child Souvenirs d'égotisme References[edit] ^ Robin M. Kowalski ed., Aversive Interpersonal Behaviors (1997) p. 112 ^ William Walker Atkinson, The New Psychology (2010 [1909]) p. 30 ^ Samuel D. Schmalhausen, Why We Misbehave (2004 [1928]) p. 55 ^ Kowalski ed., p. 1114 ^ Mark R. Leary, The Curse of the Self (OUP 2007) p. 91 ^ Kowalski ed., p. 121-2 ^ Kowalski ed., p. 113 ^ J. C. Flügel, Man, Morals and Society (1973) p. 242–3 ^ Sigmund Freud, On Metapsychology (PFL 11) p. 85 ^ Otto Fenichel, The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (London 1946) p. 38 and p. 57 ^ Robin Skynner and John Cleese, Families and how to survive them (London 1994) p. 91 ^ Skynner & Cleese, Families p. 63 ^ Kowalski ed., p. 224 ^ Robin Skynner and John Cleese, Life and how to survive it (London 1994) p. 241 ^ R. Bly and M. Woodman, The Maiden King (1999) p. 85–8 ^ Malcolm Cowley, ed., The Portable Hawthorne (Penguin 1977) p. 177 ^ Richard Eldridge, The Persistence of Romanticism (2001) p. 118 ^ Scott Wilson, in Patricia Waugh, ed., Literary Theory and Criticism (2006) p. 563–4 ^ Henry Hart, Robert Lowell and the Sublime (1995) p. 30 ^ Wilson, p. 565-6 ^ Schmalhausen, p. 153 ^ Sigmund Freud, On Metapsychology (PFL 11) p. 93 ^ Schmalhausen, p. 34 ^ Otto Fenichel, The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (London 1946) p. 516-7 ^ Ann Thwaite, A. A. Milne: His Life (2006) p. 123 and p. 194 ^ Holiday, Ryan (2016). Ego Is The Enemy. New York: Penguin Random House. p. 20. ISBN 9780698192157. Further reading[edit] Grayling, Anthony Clifford (2009). Ideas that Matter. London: Orion. ISBN 978-0297856764. Stendhal (1983). Souvenirs d'égotisme (in French). Gallimard. ISBN 978-2070374304. External links[edit] Wikiquote has quotations related to: Egotism Egotism in German Philosophy (1916) by George Santayana B. J. Bushman/R. F. Baumeister, 'Threatened Egotism...' v t e Narcissism Types Collective Egomania Flying monkeys Healthy Malignant Narcissistic personality disorder Spiritual Workplace Characteristics Betrayal Boasting Egocentrism Egotism Empathy (lack of) Envy Entitlement (exaggerated sense of) Fantasy Grandiosity Hubris Magical thinking Manipulative Narcissistic abuse Narcissistic elation Narcissistic rage and narcissistic injury Narcissistic mortification Narcissistic supply Narcissistic withdrawal Perfectionism Self-esteem Self-righteousness Shamelessness Superficial charm Superiority complex True self and false self Vanity Defences Denial Idealization and devaluation Distortion Projection Splitting Cultural phenomena Control freak Don Juanism Dorian Gray syndrome My way or the highway Selfie Related articles Codependency Counterdependency Dark triad Ego ideal "Egomania" (film) Egotheism Empire-building God complex History of narcissism Messiah complex Micromanagement Narcissism of small differences Narcissistic leadership Narcissistic parent Narcissistic Personality Inventory Narcissus (mythology) On Narcissism Sam Vaknin Self-love Self-serving bias Spoiled child The Culture of Narcissism Workplace bullying Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Egotism&oldid=993205914" Categories: Egoism Narcissism Philosophy of life Hidden categories: Articles needing additional references from January 2016 All articles needing additional references CS1 French-language sources (fr) Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikiquote Languages Deutsch Español فارسی Français हिन्दी Italiano Latina Lietuvių Polski Русский سنڌي Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски தமிழ் Türkçe Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 9 December 2020, at 10:22 (UTC). 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