Egotism
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Egotism is a doctrine that individual self-interest is the appropriate motive of all conscious action. Such a belief asserts that individual self-interest is the valid end of all actions. Egotism manifests as excessive rationalization, denial, narcissism, as well as the inordinate concern for oneself, or a tendency to speak or write of oneself boastfully and at great length. Egotism may also be coupled with an inflated sense of one's own importance, at the denial of others. This conceit is a character trait, which describes a person who acts to gain values in an amount greater than that of the values he/she gives to others. Egotism is often accomplished by exploiting the altruism, irrationality and ignorance of others, as well as utilizing coercive force and/or fraud.
Egotism differs from both altruism, or acting to gain fewer values than are being given, and egoism, a determination to gain and give an equal amount or degree of values. Various forms of "empirical egoism" can be consistent with egotism, as long as the value of one's own self-benefit is entirely individual.
[edit] Etymology
The term "egotism" is derived from the Latin ego, meaning "self" or "I", and English, -ism, used to denote a philosophy.
[edit] See also
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