Abstract: The concept of amour-propre in Rousseau has received a new wave of attention from scholars in the past twenty years. In line with recent trends, this paper aims to explore amour propre and examine whether superiority catalyzes “inflaming” this passion. I begin by challenging the egalitarian interpretation that the concept of “fellow creatures” is unlikely to encompass all people even in its most ideal form, the “community of mankind”, which usually serves as the presupposition of equal recognition. Second, I argue that the craving for superiority cannot differentiate the inflamed amour-propre from the healthy version, because that desire extends beyond the inflamed variant, permeating the fabric of both the inflamed and the healthy amour-propre.