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]).
- 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - I’m an egoist, you be an egoist, too.
— from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - “Wicked, heartless egoist!” cried Dounia.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - But what an egoist you are!
— from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Surely he can’t be an egoist, Dounia.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Suppose I am an egoist, a despot and a fool . .
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Meredith's The Egoist 1880.
— from English Literature by William J. Long - 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 - 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