Bernard Mandeville, the psychological and normative egoist, denied that self-denial as a means of ruling our vicious passins was effective, and be not a very effective means of becoming virtuous.
I am not as pessimistic as Mandeville; one can dampen down dark passions like hatred and lust, and use moderation to temper their enthusiasm in action. Reason can lead us to not follow passion, and our moral upbringing can teach us to control our passions and deny meeting and fulfilling our temptations.
We are born depraved, and what is evil in us mostly is our passions and biological drives, unsublimated. We are born altruists and this is why we hate ourselves.
Our wicked side and our passionate destruction and corruption can only be conquered through the presence in our hearts of the Good Spirits, by being guided by right reason, and chasing after reasonable self-interest.
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