self-interest
Looking out first
Self-interest is concern for one's own advantage or well-being.
The term is neutral in economics, where rational self-interest drives market behavior, but elsewhere it often carries a whiff of selfishness: He claimed to support the policy on principle, but self-interest was clearly at play.
Acting in one's self-interest isn't inherently wrong—survival demands it—but the phrase typically surfaces when someone's motives seem insufficiently generous.
Excessive admiration of oneself
- egotismInflated sense of self-importance
- me-firstPrioritizing personal advantage
- vanityExcessive pride in oneself
- greedExcessive desire for wealth
avarice · solipsism · conceit · entitlement · callousness · disregard
Reward encouraging action
Innate behavioral tendency
- necessityIndispensable requirement
- protectionGuarding against harm
- securityProtection from threat
- hoardingExcessive accumulation of goods
scarcity · territory · defensiveness · fight-or-flight · triage · zero-sum
Doctrine of personal independence
- libertarianismMinimal-government political philosophy
- laissez-faireNoninterference in commerce
- objectivismBelief in external truths
- atomismDiscrete particles compose everything
Lifelong occupational pursuit
- promotionRank increase or publicity
- successFavorable outcome attained
- climbingAscending by physical effort
- networkingBuilding professional relationships
opportunity · recognition · advancement · status-seeking · careerism · positioning · ladder-climbing · striving
Functional worth or purpose
- maximizationAchieving greatest possible amount
- calculationMathematical problem-solving process
- cost-benefitComparing expenditure to return
- optimizationMaximizing efficiency or performance
trade-offs · preferences · payoff · prudence · deliberation
narcissism
Excessive admiration of oneself
- egotismInflated sense of self-importance
- me-firstPrioritizing personal advantage
- vanityExcessive pride in oneself
greed · avarice · solipsism · conceit · entitlement · callousness · disregard
incentive
Reward encouraging action
instinct
Innate behavioral tendency
- necessityIndispensable requirement
- protectionGuarding against harm
- securityProtection from threat
hoarding · scarcity · territory · defensiveness · fight-or-flight · triage · zero-sum
individualism
Doctrine of personal independence
- libertarianismMinimal-government political philosophy
- laissez-faireNoninterference in commerce
- objectivismBelief in external truths
career
Lifelong occupational pursuit
- promotionRank increase or publicity
- successFavorable outcome attained
- climbingAscending by physical effort
networking · opportunity · recognition · advancement · status-seeking · careerism · positioning · ladder-climbing · striving
utility
Functional worth or purpose
- maximizationAchieving greatest possible amount
- calculationMathematical problem-solving process
- cost-benefitComparing expenditure to return
optimization · trade-offs · preferences · payoff · prudence · deliberation
- interestcuriosity, fascination, attention, concern, stake
- motivationsambition, drive, desire, goal, goals
- selfish traitsgreedy, egotistical, narcissistic, me-first, entitled
- selfishnessgreed, egoism, narcissism, entitlement, avarice
- motivatorsmotivator, rewards, ambition, incentive, incentives
- personal concernspriorities, values, goals, beliefs, needs
self-interestaltruism
Prioritizing others' wellbeing
selflessness · unselfishness · self-sacrifice · self-abnegation · self-immolation
self-interestcommon good
Benefit shared by all
public spirit · civic-mindedness · collectivism · solidarity · social responsibility
self-interestdisinterestedness
Absence of selfish motive
impartiality · objectivity · neutrality · detachment · fairness
self, interest, selfish, myself, interesting, himself, yourself, oneself, herself