Amour-propre
Amour-propre (French, "self-love") is a concept in the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau that esteem depends upon the opinion of others. Rousseau contrasts it with amour de soi, which also means "self-love", but which does not involve seeing oneself as others see one. According to Rousseau, amour de soi is more primitive and is compatible with wholeness and happiness, while amour-propre is an unnatural form of self-love that arose only with the appearance of society and individuals' consequent ability to compare themselves with one another. Rousseau thought that amour-propre was subject to corruption, thereby causing vice and misery.[1]
The term amour-propre predates Rousseau and is found in the writings of Blaise Pascal, La Rochefoucauld, Pierre Nicole, Jacques Abbadie and many others.[2] For Pascal, Christianity was the only true remedy to this wretched state of man known as amour-propre, which for him is a direct consequence of the Fall, and in his writings the term generally refers to man's desire to satisfy his own needs and desires.
References
- ↑ Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712—1778) Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- ↑ L'amour-propre at Everything2.com