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Literary notes about egoist (AI summary)

The word "egoist" appears in literature with a variety of nuanced connotations, ranging from ethical analysis to vivid character portrayal. Philosophers like Schopenhauer depict the egoist as trapped in a self-centered world, where external hostilities are met only by an inward focus on personal good ([1], [2]). Similarly, ethical and existential discussions by Henry Sidgwick and Nietzsche question the merits of deferring present pleasures for greater future gains and highlight human tendencies to prioritize habitual self-interest ([3], [4], [5]). On the literary front, Dostoyevsky employs the term both playfully and critically as his characters acknowledge or condemn self-interest, while Chekhov uses it to underline the complexity of individual nature ([6], [7], [8], [9], [10]). Furthermore, titles such as Meredith’s The Egoist indicate that the concept has long been a subject of both literary intrigue and scholarly discussion ([11], [12], [13]).
  1. The egoist feels himself surrounded by strange and hostile individuals, and all his hope is centred in his own good.
    — from The World as Will and Idea (Vol. 1 of 3) by Arthur Schopenhauer
  2. But all this now lies as near him as his own person lies to the egoist.
    — from The World as Will and Idea (Vol. 1 of 3) by Arthur Schopenhauer
  3. it must surely be admissible to ask the Egoist, ‘Why should I sacrifice a present pleasure for a greater one in the future?
    — from The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick
  4. Man is an indifferent egoist: even the cleverest regards his habits as more important than his advantage.
    — from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book I and II by Nietzsche
  5. We are supposing the Egoist to have all his impulses under control, and are only asking how this control is to be exercised.
    — from The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick
  6. I’m an egoist, you be an egoist, too.
    — from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  7. “Wicked, heartless egoist!” cried Dounia.
    — from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  8. But what an egoist you are!
    — from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  9. Surely he can’t be an egoist, Dounia.
    — from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  10. Suppose I am an egoist, a despot and a fool . .
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  11. Meredith's The Egoist 1880.
    — from English Literature by William J. Long
  12. As yet there is no autobiography or biography of an egocentric personality so convincing as George Meredith's The Egoist .
    — from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park
  13. Among the best of his works, besides the two mentioned above, are Beauchamp's Career (1876) and The Egoist (1879).
    — from English Literature by William J. Long

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