A nobleman is helping his fiancée carry a big sack. Next, he helps her hang a painting. He hits own finger with the hammer. It hurts, so he winces, but his girlfriend thinks he is being self-absorbed and egotistical.
''Once upon a time, there was a man who was called egotistical on the rare occasions when he tried to focus on himself.''
The notion of egotism
Egotism means self-love. An egotist is someone who has a high degree of self-love and self-absorption, while having an egotistical desire or point of view means being selfish, self-seeking, self-loving, cf. ruthless or inconsiderate of others.
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with self-love or self-absorption. On the contrary, I believe we should all pay much more attention to our own needs and, thus, to other people’s needs, cf. the previous chapter on love. However, there is definitely something wrong with being selfish, inconsiderate and unloving – that has bad consequences, both for the person who acts this way and for anyone who is subjected to this sort of behaviour.