merely self-preservation
definitions
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The concept that an action or motivation is driven exclusively by the instinct to survive or avoid harm, lacking any higher moral, ethical, or altruistic purpose.de: bloße Selbsterhaltung
examples
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His decision to flee the country was driven by merely self-preservation, not by political conviction.
Seine Entscheidung, das Land zu verlassen, war lediglich von Selbsterhaltung getrieben, nicht von politischer Überzeugung.