Book 9 / Chapter 8
Paragraph 3 - The Distinction Between Self-Interest and Selfishness
Explanation - Part By Part
"Perhaps we ought to mark off such arguments from each other and determine how far and in what respects each view is right. Now if we grasp the sense in which each school uses the phrase 'lover of self', the truth may become evident."
Here, Aristotle is suggesting that we need to carefully separate and evaluate the different arguments about what it means to be a "lover of self." Different people or perspectives (what he calls "schools" here) use the phrase in different ways, and by understanding how each uses it, we can uncover the truth. The idea is to avoid confusion: instead of lumping everything together, we need to clarify the meaning behind the term depending on the context, as the same phrase can have positive or negative connotations depending on how it's interpreted and used.
"Those who use the term as one of reproach ascribe self-love to people who assign to themselves the greater share of wealth, honours, and bodily pleasures; for these are what most people desire, and busy themselves about as though they were the best of all things, which is the reason, too, why they become objects of competition."
Aristotle is explaining how the term "self-love" is often used in a negative way to criticize people who prioritize themselves when it comes to things like wealth, status, and physical pleasures. These are things that most people see as highly desirable, so many compete for them as if they are the ultimate goals in life. In this context, self-love gets a bad reputation because it’s associated with greed, selfishness, and the pursuit of these material or superficial rewards.
"So those who are grasping with regard to these things gratify their appetites and in general their feelings and the irrational element of the soul; and most men are of this nature (which is the reason why the epithet has come to be used as it is-it takes its meaning from the prevailing type of self-love, which is a bad one); it is just, therefore, that men who are lovers of self in this way are reproached for being so."
Aristotle is pointing out that when people criticize someone as being a "lover of self," they often mean someone who is selfish in a negative way — someone who seeks excessive wealth, honors, and physical pleasures for personal gain. These desires come from the "irrational" part of the soul, the part driven by basic appetites and emotions rather than reason or virtue. Many people live this way, pursuing these things as if they were the most important in life. Because this kind of selfishness is so common and visibly harmful, the term "self-love" has come to carry a negative connotation. Aristotle believes it's fair to criticize people for this type of self-centeredness, as it's rooted in satisfying base desires instead of striving for higher, virtuous goals.
"That it is those who give themselves the preference in regard to objects of this sort that most people usually call lovers of self is plain; for if a man were always anxious that he himself, above all things, should act justly, temperately, or in accordance with any other of the virtues, and in general were always to try to secure for himself the honourable course, no one will call such a man a lover of self or blame him."
Aristotle is pointing out that when people criticize self-love, they're usually talking about a specific kind of self-love—namely, the selfish kind. This refers to people who prioritize things like wealth, honors, or bodily pleasures for themselves, often to the detriment of others. Such behavior is seen as greedy or indulgent, and it’s why the term "lover of self" typically carries a negative connotation.
However, Aristotle argues that not all forms of self-love are bad. If someone is focused on living virtuously—acting with justice, moderation, and moral excellence—and strives to make choices that are honorable and good, then no one would criticize or think ill of that person for wanting the best for themselves. In fact, such a person might still be "loving themselves," but in a way that reflects their commitment to virtue rather than selfish desires.