#egoism

But egoism is more than this. It is the realization by the individual that he is above all institutions and all formulas; that they exist only so far as he chooses to make them his own by accepting them. ↗

— John Buchanan Robinson

#accepting #chooses #egoism #exist #far

There is no word more generally misinterpreted than the word egoism, in its modern sense. ↗

— John Buchanan Robinson

#generally #misinterpreted #modern #more #sense

Who among us has the strength to oppose petty egoism, those petty good feelings, pity and remorse? ↗

— Ivan Turgenev

#egoism #feelings #good #oppose #petty

In fondo non è male tenere in gabbia le persone che si amano. ↗

— Diego De Silva

#egoismo #gabbia #love #love

Whatever they say about it, but being altruistic is not so simple for everyone. Not to look and sound like despotism, altruism must be learnt, and it’s a long way, which in fact begins from our egoism, for really, a human can’t love others if he doesn’t love himself first. ↗

— Lara Biyuts

#life #self-love #love

We have killed “duty” so that our ardent desire for free brotherhood acquires heroic valor in life. We have killed “pity” because we are barbarians capable of great love. We have killed “altruism” because we are generous egoists. We have killed “philanthropic solidarity” so that the social man unearths his most secret “I” and finds the strength of the “Unique”. ↗

— Renzo Novatore

#egoism #love

We are on strike against martyrdom—and against the moral code that demands it. We are on strike against those who believe that one man must exist for the sake of another. We are on strike against the morality of cannibals, be it practiced in body or in spirit. We will not deal with men on any terms but ours—and our terms are a moral code which holds that man is an end in himself and not the means to any end of others. ↗

— Ayn Rand

#ayn-rand #individualism #objectivism #rational-egoism #men

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things, the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth a war, is much worse. When a people are used as mere human instruments for firing cannon or thrusting bayonets, in the service and for the selfish purposes of a master, such war degrades a people. A war to protect other human beings against tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to their own ideas of right and good, and which is their own war, carried on for an honest purpose by their free choice, — is often the means of their regeneration. A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. ↗

— John Stuart Mill

#pacifism #sacrifice #selfishness #war #men

So many things happen that we can't control, its best not to worry about what we can. Believing you can change the world has a terrible effect on one's ego. ↗

— Bauvard

#control #egoism #funny #humor #change

Shyness is just egoism out of its depth. ↗

— Penelope Keith

#egoism #just #out #shyness