Zompist Bboard Again

People perceive all those as opposites?

This is getting sort of away from linguistics into philosophy, but


selfishness and altruism.


People usually assume that you're either selfish or altruistic, and in some places and contexts, there are intense, passionate debates over which attitude is better, but IMO there's actually no contradiction between caring about yourself and caring about other people.

I care about myself. I want to be happy, I want to get a reasonable amount of fun and enjoyment out of life, and I want to reach the goals that I've set for myself.

And I care about other people. I want people to be happy, I want people to get a reasonable amount of fun and enjoyment out of their lives, and as long as people's goals are morally and ethically ok, I want them to reach these goals. (Except, of course, when it comes to the people whom I specifically dislike.)

No contradiction there, as far as I can see. Actually, I'm reasonably sure that a large share of the world's population has that basic approach towards life, even if they don't put it into the exact words that I've just used.

Sure, it's healthy to care for oneself and for others but selfishness and self-care are not the same thing. Selfishness refers to caring for ones' own wants to the exclusion of those of others.