Egoism: the Narcissist | Archetypical Philosophies 8
a Short Essay for the Modern Existentialist
1 | Egoism: the Envy of the Conceited
A brilliant bard stands upon a stage, regaling a crowd as he sings and strums—spinning tales of the wildest fiction and most incredible fantasy. A dancer moves with poise and grace, bells clinking as she steps in time—the curves of her body drawing the spellbound gaze of prince and pauper alike. These players endeavor to win hearts and minds—to capture the attention of every person, and to seize upon the praise and worship of a roaring crowd.
These artists command the strength of fiction—of a story that they tell about themselves, and which they then peddle to the masses. They seek the power to claim ownership over the lives of their admirers—of those who would willingly devote their own Agency to the worship of someone else’s existence. They are the ones who stand upon the great stage of life, hoping to command the admiration of all—of the praise and worship of every last person in their entire world.
This is the Egoist—the person who feels and believes that they are entitled to the adulation of the world. Believing themselves to be inherently deserving, Egoists think of the world as a place which is supposed to be Ordered to their benefit—which exists with their own individual self as the focus of reality. And, whenever reality appears to indicate that this assessment might be wrong, the Egoist is quick to assume that it can’t be their assessment of reality which is inaccurate… but rather, that it must be the world which is mistaken instead.
Thus, the Egoist is the Narcissist; they who have managed to convince themselves that they possess an inherent value… and, that if the world appears to be ignorant of that value, then it must be made to see it. They believe that it isn’t their own opinions or beliefs which must be attuned to the state of reality, but instead that it’s the world which must be aligned with the proper state of things—in other words, Ordered in such a way as to confirm their inherent value.
And so, the Egoist is the one who believes that there are two kinds of people in this world:
The delightful, and the banal.
There are things in this world which one wants and possesses—playthings which amuse and companions who fascinate. And then, there are things in this world which are boring—trinkets and baubles and dull, humdrum people which one has either grown tired of… or, wouldn’t even have wanted for oneself in the first place.
Egoists envision and style themselves as a particular kind of Pragmatist; as a chosen someone who is just as important and praiseworthy as the garden’s own master. Seeing themselves as the hero—the main character of an adventure or legend which is written both by and about themselves—the Egoist thus boldly declares that they are in complete control; that they command full directorship over their own lives and Agency. And so, they insist upon the assertion that they are their own style of master—not of an Eden and its mighty walls… but instead, of their own destiny.
This adventurer-hero is the Egoist’s fantasy—an imagination of oneself as the leading-man in one’s own fiction; the protagonist of a living myth, and the center of a universe which exists only for the purpose of one’s own enjoyment. Thus, their world is composed of experiences either delightful or banal—of people and things which enhance the quality of one’s adventure… and people and things which degrade it; and which, therefore, one might as well either trample or kick aside for the sake of the quality of one’s experience.
2 | Onward
The Servile’s eyes crave the Pragmatist’s riches—the Moralist’s heart is enamored with his power. The Egoist, however, desires neither of these—but instead, covets the master’s glory; the praise and the worship which is willingly given to he who has won fame through the realization of great feats of power and Agency.
Thus understanding that the Pragmatist-king has won the prize of adulation by means of the accomplishment of great things, the Egoist sets out to do the same; that is, to do great things. He does them, however, not because he deems those things to be necessary—because he believes that those things either should be or need to be done… but instead, only because the Egoist desires to be acknowledged for his accomplishment, and to be told that he himself is great, and deserves to wear a master’s crown.
Philosophy: a mindset. An attitude. The way that a person chooses to see the world, and therefore to approach living their life.
Αρχή | archí: origin
Τύπος | týpos: form
An Archetypical Philosophy is the bare-bones, logical basis of a person’s mindset or attitude, inferred from observation of the way in which they choose to live their life.