Egoism Essay

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Egoism

Psychological egoism is a reflex that every person has to orient

themselves toward their own welfare. Through this, it follows that every one of

his (or her) voluntary actions is some good to himself. If someone gives away

the last piece of bread to someone else, it is because they want to look like a

better person. Due to the fact that they would give away the last piece of bread.

Human nature is completely and exclusively egoistic. People are entirely

selfish and devoid of any genuine feelings of sympathy, benevolence, or

sociability. They are always thinking of themselves in everything they do.

Each individual is preoccupied exclusively with the gratification of

personal desires (felicity or happiness).Ones success in maintaining a

continuous flow of gratification is the means of ones happiness.

The object of the voluntary acts of every man is some good to himself.

Whenever man renounces his right it is either in consideration for some right

reciprocally transferred to himself, or for some other good he hopes for from

the outcome. This presents us with the old saying: "Do unto others as you would

want them to do unto you."

Social organization originates out of self interest. All society is for

gain, or for glory. It is not like we think it is—for love of our fellows.

Instead it is for self preservation. It is a sort of social contract. In a state

of nature we are at war with each other and life is solitary, poor, nasty,

brutish, and short. In a natural state individuals are in equal powers.

Voluntary collective organization is the most effective way for individuals to

utilize their powers.

Man should be allowed the right to use all means or actions to preserve

himself. For every man is desirous of what is good to him, and shuns what is

evil, but chiefly the chiefest of natural evil, which is death. The right to

bear arms.

In conclusion, I would like to say that?

Psychological Egoism-- This is the claim that humans by nature are

motivated only by self-interest . Any act, no matter how altruistic it might

seem, is actually motivated by some selfish desire of the agent (e.g., desire

for reward, avoidance of guilt, personal happiness). This is a descriptive claim

about human nature. Since the claim is universal--all acts are motivated by self

interest--it could be proven false by a single counterexample (Weston, rule #11).

It will be difficult to find an action that the psychological egoist

will acknowledge as purely altruistic, however. There is almost always some

benefit to ourselves in any action we choose. For example, if I helped my friend

out of trouble, I may feel happy afterwards. But is that happiness the motive

for my action or just a result of it? Perhaps the psychological egoist fails to

distinguish the beneficial consequences of an action from the self-interested

motivation. After all, why would it make me happy to see my friend out of

trouble if I didn't already have some prior concern for my friend's best

interest? Wouldn't that be altruism?

Egoism versus altruism

The second issue I want to explore is egoism versus altruism.

Altruism holds ``each man as his brother's keeper;'' in other words, we

are each responsible for the health and well-being of others. Clearly, this is a

simple statement of the ``safety-net'' theory from above. This is incompatible

with individualism, yet many people who are basically individualists uphold

altruism as the standard of morality. What's going on?

The problem is wide-spread confusion over the meanings of ``altruism''

and ``egoism.''

The first confusion is to confound altruism with kindness, generosity,

and helping other people. Altruism demands more than kindness: it demands

sacrifice. The billionaire who contributes $50,000 to a scholarship fund is not

acting altruistically; altruism goes beyond simple charity. Altruism is the

grocery bagger who contributes $50,000 to the fund, foregoing his own college

education so that others may go. Parents who spend a fortune to save their dying

child are helping another person, but true altruism would demand that the

parents spend their money to save ten other children, sacrificing their own

child so that others may live.

The second confusion is to confound selfishness with brutality. The

common image of selfishness is the person who runs slip-shod over people in

order to achieve arbitrary desires. We are taught that ``selfishness'' consists

of dishonesty, theft, even bloodshed, usually for the sake of the whim of the

moment.

These two confusions together obscure the possibility of an ethics of

non-sacrifice. In this ethics, each man takes responsibility for his own life

and happiness, and lets other people do the same. No one sacrifices himself to

others, nor sacrifices others to himself. The key word in this approach is earn:

each person must earn a living, must earn the love and respect of his peers,

must earn the self-esteem and the happiness that make life worth living.

It's this ethics of non-sacrifice that forms a lasting moral foundation

for individualism. It's an egoistic ethics in that each person acts to achieve

his own happiness. Yet, it's not the brutality usually ascribed to egoism.

Indeed, by rejecting sacrifice as such, it represents a revolution in thinking

on ethics.

Two asides on the topic of egoism. First, just as individualism doesn't

mean being alone, neither does non-sacrificial egoism. Admiration, friendship,

love, good-will, charity, generosity: these are wonderful values that a

selfishness person would want as part of his life. But these values do not

require true sacrifice, and thus are not altruistic in the deepest sense of the

word.

Second, I question if brutality, the form of selfishness usually

ascribed to egoism, is actually in one's self-interest in practice. Whim worship,

dishonesty, theft, exploitation: I would argue that the truly selfish man

rejects these, for he knows that happiness and self-esteem can't be stolen at

the cost of others: they must be earned...

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