A short definition of selfishness, by Roberto Assagioli
“Selfishness, instead, is the result of the fundamental urges to self-preservation and self-assertion, of the outcome of the desire to possess and to dominate; and as such, continually finding obstacles that prevent its satisfaction, it arouses aggressiveness and violence, the impulse to destroy that which interferes with the attainment of the desired objects. Selfishness is inherent in man and has always existed; but in our present day it assumes more accentuated and dangerous forms, because modern life provides stronger stimuli, fewer restraints and more powerful destructive instruments. The control of selfishness is therefore not only a moral exigency; it is a necessity for social safety.” From The Training of the Will
