Is there a difference between selfishness, Ayn Rand's term of choice, and self-interest? I think so, but I also think that Ayn Rand was trying to be provocative in her choice of words.
John Piper puts the difference this way, as he describes love and joy in the context of marriage.
Love is the pursuit of our joy in the holy joy of the beloved.There is no way to exclude self-interest from love, for self-interest is not the same as selfishness. Selfishness seeks its own private happiness at the expense [or disregard] of others. Love seeks its happiness in the happiness of the beloved. It will even suffer and die for the beloved in order that its joy might be full in the life and purity of the beloved.
Is there a difference between selfishness, Ayn Rand's term of choice, and self-interest? I think so, but I also think that Ayn Rand was trying to be provocative in her choice of words. John Piper puts the difference this way, as he describes love and joy in the context of marriage.
3 comments:
Differing translations of I Cor 13 lend some insight into the element selfishness and love. You may have already used this but it seemed appropriate to mention.
This is a really important point! Yes!
John Piper's book DESIRING GOD has the subtitle "Meditations of a Christian Hedonist". Even if he used that term just to be provocative, what single word term could he have used to describe a person who wants the greatest pleasure he can possibly achieve and what single word term could be used to describe that desire than selfishness as used by Ayn Rand?
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