Is the Pursuit of Self-interest Really Selfish? Li Zhi's Challenge to Some Well Established Categories for a New Anthropological Concept

Abstract

Self-motivation and self-interest are the main themes of Li Zhi’s discourse, worth attention not only for moral implications but also because they are the basis for the construction of a new self, the premise of a renewed anthropological idea of the individual. The article reexamines some of Li Zhi’s ideas that locate the motivation issue in a person able to keep freedom, autonomy and tolerance, and imply his exploration of questions such as human nature, self-cultivation, autonomy and happiness. Li Zhi's construction of the self, based on desire, spontaneity and authenticity, implies the centrality of the same self, the search for happiness, and the consequent basic motivation of human behavior, and the refusal of morality that ignores innate self-interest. Li’s individualistic model claims the priority of free private space for each individual, and yet is framed in a holistic cosmic and social vision. Li Zhi redesigns values such as authenticity, autonomy, inner freedom, and heart-mind.