Self-Interest and Selfishness

And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgement of all wrong
They decide and
The shotgun sings the song
--The Who

An axiom of human behavior is that people act. They act in ways perceived as bettering their position vs their present condition. In other words, people act in their own self-interest.

Self-interested action may be oriented toward acquiring material wealth. Or it may be oriented toward acquiring psychic income. Indeed, a person may give up material wealth in order to gain psychic income, as in the case of someone who gives to charity in exchange for a good feeling about helping others.

A subset of psychic income is spiritual income. People might give to charity because they believe that this action will better position them for the Afterlife.

Is acting in one's own self-interest equivalent to acting selfishly?

If selfishness is defined as acting out of concern for one's own interests, then the answer is yes. The objective of human action is to improve one's material or psychic position.

However, if selfishness is defined as acting out of excessive concern for one's own interests relative to others, then the answer is ambiguous. Judgment must be rendered on what constitutes excessive concern for oneself versus others.

Who best renders such a judgment? It is common for people to look upon the behavior of others and label it selfish. The problem, of course, is that these judges are employing their personal standards of what constitutes 'excessive' self-interest in others. And because those judges are acting in their own self-interest, the judgment rendered is sure to be one that promises income, whether it be material or psychic, to the judges. For instance, calling someone else selfish may make some accusers feel superior to the accused.

Scripture warns about casting such stones at others...

There are only two qualified judges of what constitutes overly selfish behavior. Each individual has to make a personal judgment, grounded in conscience, on the righteousness of his/her actions.

The final arbiter, of course, is the Creator, who will render decisive judgment.