Delphian

There is something Delphian about my  juxtaposing egoism (enlightened self-love) with a prime emphasis upon good manners towards neighbors, seeking to treat all with courtesy and respect.

It may seem inconsistent to promote self-interest all the while I insist that each agent practice good manners towards his neighbor, an altruistic concession.

Not really, it is but the Golden Rule from the moderate and egoist point of view. Charity does begin at home. If the self-loves the self and treats the self with courtesy and respect, then he is inclined to treat all other people with courtesy and respect.

If we are mean to, attack and degrade another first, or the self first, then that is generally how we treat others. There is behavioral and attitudinal linkage here.

Whether we are kind first and foremost to the self or too others, we will also be kind to others and too the self if one is being kind to others first.

What we do to others, we do to the self; what we do to the self, we do to others. Therefore, treating others with kindness, courtesy and respect is as much egoistic as it is altruistic. Therefore, we are commanded by God, the Chief Egoist, to treat others well as a corollary to treating the self well

Whether we refer to ourselves as egoists or altruists, the moral truth is that we treat the self the way that we treat others. How we treat others is how we treat the self. Courteous, kind, respectful behavior is the moral ideal, the standard that the Good Spirits set for us, and we are to live moderately, as egoists first with minor altruistic considerations second. So be courteous, and be respectful. It is the loving, divine way to act.