A Comparison of the Metaphysical Egoism of ʿAllāma Ṭabāṭabāʾī With Egoistic Theories in Ethics

The discussion of egoism versus altruism, or benevolence, is a significant topic in contemporary ethical philosophy. Egoism is categorized into psychological egoism and ethical egoism. From the perspective of psychological egoism, as a descriptive theory, humans perform every action to maximize their personal benefits. In contrast, ethical egoism, as a prescriptive theory, posits that humans ought to act to achieve the greatest personal benefits. ʿAllāma Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s works contain phrases that could be interpreted as indicative of both psychological and ethical egoism. In this article, we will examine the claims and arguments of egoists while comparing their perspectives with those of ʿAllāma Ṭabāṭabāʾī (Arabic: عَلَّامَة طَبَاطَبَائِی). We will demonstrate that, despite certain similarities with psychological and ethical egoism, his views are fundamentally distinct. From his teachings, a different form of egoism can be derived, termed metaphysical egoism. ʿAllāma’s metaphysical egoism presents a defensible theory in response to the main criticisms against ethical egoism, namely the conflict of interests and the logical inconsistency.