“Only Care About Yourself” | Egoism

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Important Correction (04/09/2025)I have read Stirner’s first section pretty straight here, but it is worth noting that some have interpreted it sarcastically, primarily regarding the racial element, but also the notion of progress and dialectic more generally. Here is a translators introduction where they make that very argumentHere is another I’ve also cut the bit about Stirner’s ‘racism’ since having done a bit more reading I’ve become convinced of the satirical interpretation of that. Additionally, if I were writing this again, I would probably not say that he is “often” thought to have influenced Nietzsche and the existentialists. While there is some evidence for this, I think I overstate things here, and it would be better to have said something like “there are some connections between these philosophies”. In hindsight, I am also quite unhappy with my presentation of Feuerbach. I would not say that he found these things “inherently” desirable, but rather that we just do desire them, out of our human essence.

There are few philosophers who are as controversial as Max Stirner, and his philosophy of egoism. He has managed to influence existentialism, anarchism, and more, and yet his ideas also tend to produce revulsion wherever they appear.

But does this philosophy hold up to scrutiny, and how should we approach it today? Well, let's find out.

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