Stirner // Rand // Nietzsche: EGOISM | Philosophy & Psychology

Summary

In this intriguing exploration of egoism, the video delves into the philosophies of Max Stirner, Ayn Rand, and Friedrich Nietzsche, unpacking their diverse views on individualism and self-interest. Stirner's radical anarcho-egoism challenges authority and religious constraints, while Nietzsche's belief in biological determinism and the will to power contrasts with Rand's objectivist morality and rational self-interest. The video highlights their varying stances on morality, freedom, self-interest, and altruism, offering a comprehensive examination of one of philosophy's enduring debates.

Highlights

• Max Stirner challenges authority and religious constraints through his concept of anarcho-egoism. 🚀
• Stirner questions traditional ideas of freedom, advocating for personal ownership of one's actions. 🗽
• Nietzsche rejects volitional free will, viewing egoism through biological determinism. 🧠
• Ayn Rand promotes objectivism and rational self-interest, opposing altruism. 🏗️
• The contrast between Stirner's skepticism of objective morality and Rand's embrace of it. 🎭

Key Takeaways

• Max Stirner champions anarcho-egoism, opposing traditional authority and promoting self-interest above all. 🤔
• Nietzsche views egoism through a lens of biological determinism and criticizes traditional moral judgments. 🌱
• Ayn Rand supports rational and ethical egoism, advocating for objectivism and self-interest as moral obligations. ✨
• Stirner and Nietzsche both question objective morality, but for entirely different reasons. 🤨
• Rand's philosophy positions reason and rationality at the center, unlike Nietzsche's critique of these as mere byproducts of passion. 🧐

Overview

Max Stirner, a radical philosopher known for his beliefs in individualism and anarchism, argues vigorously for anarcho-egoism in his seminal work 'The Ego and Its Own'. He challenges the authority of religious and philosophical dogma, advocating for 'ownness'—a concept predicated on self-interest as the driving force of human action. Stirner raises thought-provoking questions about freedom and self-awareness, making a compelling case for psychological egoism.

Ayn Rand, often seen as a contemporary counterpoint to Stirner, bases her philosophy on objectivism, positioning rational self-interest as a fundamental ethical principle. Her critique of altruism hinges on the idea that self-sacrifice is counterproductive to genuine moral duty. Rand's rational egoism emphasizes the need for reason as the principal guide for self-interest and moral conduct, starkly contrasting with the anarchist leanings of Stirner.

Friedrich Nietzsche adds another layer to the discourse by bringing in the concept of biological determinism and the will to power. While Nietzsche disputes the existence of free will and ethical egoism from a traditional sense, he views egoism in relation to an individual's capability to advance the species. He provocatively insists that moral and rational constructs are mere reflections of underlying instinctual impulses.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Max Stirner's Philosophy The introductory chapter to Max Stirner's philosophy focuses on his influential radical ideas about individualism, anarchism, and specifically anarcho-egoism. The chapter references his seminal work, 'The Ego and His Own,' where Stirner presents a strong argument in favor of the individual challenging authority. He critiques religious, philosophical, and political restrictions that limit personal freedom.
• 00:30 - 07:00: Freedom and Ownness The chapter titled 'Freedom and Ownness' from the book's second part, 'Ownness', discusses personal freedom in the context of egoism and selfishness. It starts by highlighting the fundamental issue with the general conception of freedom, which is seen as impossible. The chapter states that while people advocate for freedom, they often fail to recognize that true freedom involves discarding everything that constrains or controls you.
• 07:00 - 08:00: Religion and Egoism The chapter 'Religion and Egoism' delves into the concept of self-understanding and how parts of ourselves may not necessarily lead to inconvenience. It discusses the idea of willingly relinquishing freedom when it is convenient and reclaiming it only when it is beneficial. This reflects on the perspective that true freedom cannot be negotiated or partial; it must be complete, as a partial freedom does not constitute freedom at all.
• 08:00 - 10:00: Psychological Egoism The chapter revolves around the concept of psychological egoism, discussing the pursuit of ultimate freedom, which is deemed unattainable and even insane to wish for according to the philosophy presented. The author, Sterner, proposes an alternative idea called 'ownness,' which focuses on self-ownership and promoting personal interests. He criticizes religion for encouraging individuals to view themselves through an imposed perspective rather than fostering their personal autonomy.
• 10:00 - 12:30: Voluntary and Involuntary Egoists The chapter 'Voluntary and Involuntary Egoists' discusses the innate nature of humans and critiques the religious mindset that has conditioned people to view themselves negatively. It argues against the idea that our fundamental essence requires improvement. A quote highlights how this religious way of thinking has led us to be 'terrified at ourselves in our nakedness and naturalness' and to view ourselves as 'born devils.' The chapter also suggests that Stirner's questioning of 'what am I?' significantly influenced Nietzsche's philosophical ideas.
• 12:30 - 18:30: Difference between Stirner and Rand The chapter explores the philosophical contrast between Max Stirner and Ayn Rand. It begins with a quotation that describes a chaotic abyss filled with unregulated desires and passions, lacking any guidance from divine commandments, moral duties, or reason. The passage suggests that such an approach leads one to follow their most senseless passions, ultimately perceiving themselves as devils. This highlights the tension between Stirner's advocacy for individualism driven by personal desires and Rand's philosophy, which emphasizes rational self-interest.
• 18:30 - 23:00: Nietzsche's View on Egoism In the chapter titled 'Nietzsche's View on Egoism,' the concept of psychological egoism is explored, particularly through the lens of penseur Sterner. The chapter suggests that all human actions stem from self-interest, negating true altruism. This perspective is supported by historical and religious analysis, questioning whose interests underpin religious adherence.
• 23:00 - 28:30: Comparing Rand and Nietzsche In the chapter titled 'Comparing Rand and Nietzsche', the discussion centers around the viewpoints of Stirner regarding obedience and self-interest. Stirner argues that adherence to commandments is driven by self-interest rather than respect for God. This perspective contrasts with the idea of altruism, focusing instead on ownness and psychological egoism. Stirner supports his claim by mentioning historical events where Christians condemned figures like Apollo and Minerva, illustrating the theme of self-directed motives. The discussion aims to explore these philosophic arguments in the context of Rand and Nietzsche's ideologies.
• 28:30 - 32:30: Nietzsche vs. Rand on Reason and Morality The chapter explores the contrasts between Nietzsche's and Rand's perspectives on reason and morality. The discussion delves into how heathen morality was replaced by Christian values for personal spiritual well-being. This shift was motivated by egoism and a sense of ownership, which freed people from the old world of gods. The concept of 'ownness' is presented as a catalyst for a new form of freedom, positioning ownness as a creator akin to genius, bringing forth individuality and new expressions of freedom.
• 32:30 - 35:00: Conclusion and Social Engagement The chapter "Conclusion and Social Engagement" discusses the concept of originality as a hallmark of significant historical creations. Sterner proposes that religion is fundamentally based on egoism, suggesting that it manipulates this trait through 'cheated egoism.' This involves religion establishing moral principles that ultimately do not fulfill individual desires, implying a critique of how religion manages personal egoism for broader commitments.

Stirner // Rand // Nietzsche: EGOISM | Philosophy & Psychology Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] max sterner one of the most radical philosophers for the concept of individualism anarchism and of anarcho-egoism cerna in his most important book called the ego and his own makes the strident case of the individual against authority it challenges religion philosophical and political constraints that hamper on the
• 00:30 - 01:00 reality of personal freedom the first chapter to the second part of his book called ownness outlines with precision and quick succession what his view is in relation to egoism and selfishness he brings up the fundamental problem of freedom that freedom in its most general conception is impossible people vouch for freedom but don't realize that freedom is ridding of oneself everything that embraces you but when it
• 01:00 - 01:30 comes to self-understanding there are parts of ourselves that don't bring us inconvenience due to this he says i quote you gladly let freedom go when unfreedom suits you and you take up your freedom again on occasion when it begins to suit you better end quote he also says this i quote freedom all you want you want freedom why do you heagle over a more or less freedom can only be the whole of freedom a piece of freedom is not freedom you
• 01:30 - 02:00 despair of the possibility of obtaining the whole of freedom freedom from everything yes you consider it insanity even to wish this well then leave off chasing after the phantom and spend your pains on something better than the unattainable end quote with this being said sterner vouches for what he calls ownness to own oneself to forward the personal eye to everything we do he says that religion is what has called us to view ourselves as
• 02:00 - 02:30 naturally wrong that our fundamental essence needs mending i quote the habit of the religious way of thinking has biased our mind so grievously that we are terrified at ourselves in our nakedness and naturalness it has degraded us so that we deem ourselves depraved by nature born devils end quote when sterner brings up the question of what am i we can see how nietzsche was heavily influenced by this work
• 02:30 - 03:00 i quote an abyss of lawless and unregulated impulses desires wishes passions and chaos without light or guided star how am i to obtain a correct answer if without regard to god's commandments or the duties which morality prescribes without regard to the voice of reason i simply appeal to myself my passion would advise me to do the most senseless thing possible thus each deems himself the devil ends quote when it comes to
• 03:00 - 03:30 egoism sterner strongly vouches for psychological egoism this is the strict notion that all human conducts are always done out of self-interest that altruism is very much non-existent or that which is not the primary matter of concern when it comes to action the ways in which he supports this claim is by looking through history and most specifically religion he asks the question i quote for whose sake do you care about gods and the other commandments
• 03:30 - 04:00 do you follow these commandments out of compliance towards god for sterner this is not the case he claims you only do so for your sake for your self-interest obedience to god is not out of respect for god but respect and concern for yourself for your own self-interest not for the sake of altruism he sees everything based on these two concepts of ownness and psychological egoism for example he furthers his claim by saying that christians once condemned apollo and minavera or
• 04:00 - 04:30 heathen morality they then replaced this with christ mary and christian morality i quote they did this for the sake of their souls welfare too therefore out of egoism and ownness and it was by this egoism this oneness that they got rid of the old world of gods and became free from it ownness creates a new form of freedom for ownness is the creator of everything as genius a definite oneness which is always
• 04:30 - 05:00 originality for has a long time already been looked upon as the creator of new productions that have a place in the history of the world end quote for sterner religion is founded on egoism so therefore religion in his view exploits it how this is done by what he calls cheated egoism whereby religion constructs moral principles that after commitment will not satisfy myself but one of my desires for example
• 05:00 - 05:30 as he quotes the impulse towards blessedness individual self-realization rests on each individual's desire to fill their egoism the difference between an unwilling and a willing egoist is that the former will be possessed by an empty idea and belief that they are fulfilling a higher cause but usually being unaware that they are only fulfilling their own desires to be happy or secure and the latter in contrast will be a person that is able to freely choose its
• 05:30 - 06:00 actions fully aware that they are only fulfilling individual desires i quote religion promises me the supreme good to gain this i no longer regard any other of my desires all your doings are unconfessed secret covert and concealed egoism but because you are egoism that you are unwilling to confess to yourselves that you keep secret from yourselves hence not manifest in public egoism consequently
• 06:00 - 06:30 unconscious egoism therefore they are not egoism but throughout them service self-renunciation you are egoists and you are not since you renounce egoism where you seem most to be such you have drawn upon the word egoists loathing and contempt end quote so here he is saying that egoism is fundamental to everything to a religious person he believes that bringing about the supreme moral good from within that religion is simply driven by desire or impulse
• 06:30 - 07:00 which will be self-gratifying but because we are told it to be a supreme good the reality of selfishness is pushed into the unconscious and makes it concealed but at the same time people will view egoism with loathing and contempt i quote sacred things exist only for the egoist who does not acknowledge himself the involuntary egoist in short for the egoist who would like not to be an egoist and the bases himself
• 07:00 - 07:30 combats his egoism but at the same time abases himself only for the sake of being exalted and therefore of gratifying his egoism because he would like to cease to be an egoist he looks about in heaven enough for higher beings to serve and sacrifice himself to but however much he shakes and disciplines himself in the end he does all for his own sake on this account i call him the involuntary egoist as you are each instant you are your own
• 07:30 - 08:00 creature in this very creature you do not wish to lose yourself the creator you are yourself a higher being than you are and surpass yourself just this as an involuntary egoist you fail to recognize and therefore the highest essence is to you an alien essence alienness is a criterion of the sacred end's good sterner here sees that the sacred is simply the desired impulse of self-interested egoism hidden behind a sacred veil of holiness
• 08:00 - 08:30 whereby they are only fulfilling their own interest in being regarded as safe in the eyes of the lord for example freedom for sterner is only conceivable through one's capacity for ownness only through might can we become free i quote why is the freedom of the peoples a hollow word because the people have no might end quote one goes further with a handful of might than with a bag full of right you long for freedom you fools if you took might
• 08:30 - 09:00 freedom would come of itself end quote another quote all freedom is essentially self-liberation that i can have only so much freedom as i procure for myself by my ownness ends quote sterner has been broadly understood as a proponent of both psychological egoism and ethical egoism although the latter position can be disputed as there is no claim in sterner's writings in which one ought to pursue one's own interest further claiming any ought could be seen as a new fixed idea
• 09:00 - 09:30 therefore he may be understood as a rational egoist in the sense that he considered it irrational not to act in one's own self-interest sterner does also advocate for a form of utilitarian egoism i quote if i'm not concerned about a thing in and for itself and do not desire it for its own sake then i desire it solely as a means to an end for its usefulness endocrine the distinction between stern's egoism and rans is most clear in regards to morality
• 09:30 - 10:00 sterner's view on the sacred or sacred truths such as religion morality law and rights are nothing but artificial concepts and not to be obeyed can one then act freely freedom is then only possible of being one's own creature but also one's creator which is the contrasting difference between the voluntary and involuntary egoist morality in sterner's view is taking up obligations to behave in certain rigid fixed ways because of this he rejects
• 10:00 - 10:30 morality due to its incompatibility with egoism rand on the other hand regards morality or objectivism as an essential guide to genuine self-interest though a strict atheist and runs thought develops an objective and binding moral system stern on the other hand sees all morality as a spook of the mind this so-called spook is an attempt to constrict the individual from the chance at defining self-interest and individuality
• 10:30 - 11:00 the author and philosopher anne rand takes the position of rational and ethical egoism which largely differs from sterner she holds that it is both irrational and immoral to act against one's self-interest thus her view is a synthesis of both rational egoism and ethical egoism as for the latter she uses her philosophy of objectivism to attempt justification that egoism cannot be properly justified without an epistemology based on reason and rationality rand
• 11:00 - 11:30 furthers this endorsement of self-interest by her rejection of the ethical doctrine of altruism according to rand there is only one alternative of being rationally self-interested this is sacrificing one's proper interests either for the sake of other people by being altruistic or for the sake of the supernatural belief she makes the claim that the fundamental premise of altruism is the following i quote that man has no right to exist
• 11:30 - 12:00 for his own sake that service to others is the only justification of his existence and that self-sacrifice is his highest moral duty virtue in further writings on the topic of altruism from her book philosophy who needs it she writes the following do not confuse alpharism with kindness good will or respect for the rights of others these are not primaries by consequences which in fact alphaism makes impossible
• 12:00 - 12:30 the irreducible primary of althoughism the basic absolute is self-sacrifice which means self immolation self abnegation self denial self destruction which means the self as a standard of evil the selfless as a standard of the good do not hide behind such superficialities as whether you should or should not give a dime to a beggar this is not the issue the issue is whether you do or do not have the right to exist
• 12:30 - 13:00 without giving him that dime the issue is whether you must keep buying your life time by dime from any beggar who might choose to approach you the issue is whether the need of others is the first mortgage on your life and the moral purpose of your existence the issue is whether man is to be regarded as a sacrificial animal any man of self-esteem will answer no altruism says yes end quote within the ethics of objectivism ron's explanation of values presents the
• 13:00 - 13:30 proposition that an individual's primary moral obligation is to achieve his own well-being for his life and self-interest that an individual ought to obey a moral code thus she uses ethical egoism as setting for man's moral standard of self-interest and well-being something stern advocated for was individualist anarchism with his anti-state conception of the union of egoists but early 19th century anarchism for individuality was something rand
• 13:30 - 14:00 and objectivism extremely disliked she specifically regarded anarchism as a i quote naive floating abstraction and any of the sort that did not follow by the objectivist movement would be granted as something without relation to the concrete she saw anarchism as something of gang rule and not something which would promote freedom so how does nietzsche's view on egoism pair up to rand with this question in mind we have to ask crucial questions regarding
• 14:00 - 14:30 the self free will reason rationality and universal values egoism is a thesis that fundamentally rests on the concept of morality because existence of morality presupposes that moral agents make choices for which they can be held responsible for which presupposes the existence of free will when it comes to making choices hence egoism when it comes to free will rand argues this to be true of humans in the case that man's reason
• 14:30 - 15:00 is of a volitional capacity but nietzsche does nothing but reject volitional causation in regards to free will but relies on biological determinism i quote a brazen wall of fate we are in prison we can only dream ourselves free not make ourselves free end quote the single human being is a piece of phatom from the front and from the rear one law more one necessity more for all that is yet to come and to be
• 15:00 - 15:30 he ridicules the idea of self-causation saying i quote the concept is something fundamentally absurd end quote with nietzsche's disbelief in self-causation and free will of being a volitional nature it would make little sense for nietzsche to make moral judgments of good and evil about individuals unlike and rand this uproots the possibility of nietzsche ever following ethical egoism because he does not place moral judgments when he doesn't believe in self-causation or free will
• 15:30 - 16:00 for nietzsche the value of an individual is measured in terms of the individual's ability to advance the human species so if egoism concludes that the individual isn't ends in themselves then nietzsche would be regarded as an egoist right in twilight of the idols he says the following the value of egoism depends on the physiological value of him who possesses it it can be very valuable it can be worthless and contemptible every individual may be regarded as representing the ascending or descending
• 16:00 - 16:30 line of life when one has decided which one has thereby established a cannon for the value of his egoism if he represents the ascending line his value is in fact extraordinary and for the sake of the life collective which with him takes a step forward the case expected on this preservation on the creation of optimum conditions for him may even be extreme end quote for the major population nietzsche is an anti-egoist that egoism
• 16:30 - 17:00 is only valuable if the individual represents the ascending line of life to give an example of nietzsche's strident anti-egoistic temperament he says the following i quote mankind in the mass sacrifice to the prosperity of a single strong species of man that would be an advantage end quote another quote he says if one regards individuals as equal one calls the species into question one encourages a way of life that leads to ruin of the
• 17:00 - 17:30 species ends quote the value of egoism then is to nietzsche measured by evaluating the individual's capacity for advancing the species in regards to altruism he sees it as a fundamental disappointment a sign of decadence and further decline this is especially in relation to christianity's altruism i quote man is finished when he becomes altruistic instead of saying naively i am no longer worth anything the moral lie in the mouth of the decadence says nothing is worth anything
• 17:30 - 18:00 life is not worth anything end quote from what i know personally so far i don't think nietzsche views individuals as being only altruistic or egoistic but being dependent on their will to power he refers to egoism in a biologically deterministic fashion with regards to ascending and descending lines he also uses figureheads such as napoleon and their will to power or egoism as that which predicates an affirmative life stern and ron's
• 18:00 - 18:30 conclusive differences mostly remain in disagreement surrounding objective morality stern rejects it because it constraints individual egoism but nietzsche rejects objective morality from radical subjectivity again this radical subjectivity is also influenced by his biological determinism i quote it is always necessary to draw forth the physiological phenomenon behind the moral predispositions and prejudices when we do so we learn that our moral judgments and
• 18:30 - 19:00 evaluations are only images and fantasies based on a physiological process unknown to us end quote so finally in relation to reason rand and nietzsche are again in complete opposition iran sees reason as a primary value in ethics which produces what she regards of the highest of all virtues rationality nietzsche on the other hand as again doesn't see reason as being the highest of all values he sees it more or less as an offshoot or byproduct of the passions
• 19:00 - 19:30 similar to sterner he recognizes the foundation and a priori structure of the human condition being a collective of instinctual biological drives which manifest themselves psychologically in the forms of felt passions and desires some of these passions and desires further manifest themselves as conscious rational experiences as such rational judgments are not to be regarded as the descriptors of action because consciousness and rationality are the human capacities which come
• 19:30 - 20:00 after our instinctual drives and capacities so we can see that nietzsche disagrees with rand on ethical egoism the volition of reason morality being objective free will and the primacy of reason and rationality as being of highest virtue and value so i hope this ties up the different perspectives of three of the most influential philosophers in regards to egoism and individualism if you enjoyed this video make sure to like subscribe and comment down below to
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