Extract. Whereas previously deemed a moral evil, Rousseau claimed that some self-love is not only innocuous, but also ethically essential and even good. Rousseau argued that the loss of one's self-love would be equivalent to the loss of all morality and that without self-love we would be incapable of caring for others. He also believed that true humanity required self-love. According to Rousseau, self-love is an emotional attachment to oneself that prevents us from feeling indifferent toward ourselves. This emotional attachment makes us value ourselves and therefore care for our interests. Without self-love, he said, "man would be no more than a beast." In addition to being essential for human dignity, self-love is also said to be conducive to moral development. By loving himself, a person can then help love others as well. The more we love others, the less we will be tempted to misuse their trust against them. We will also be less likely to submit to the demands of the moment and act out of passion rather than reason. Finally, self-love is considered vital to one's own happiness. If we stop loving ourselves, we will have no reason to seek fulfillment elsewhere and will be doomed to feel unhappy forever.