Selfishness Vs Self Interest Essay

As much as anyone would say otherwise self-interest does play a measure in and to some extent can interfere with decision-making. Whether that becomes moral decision-making would depend upon what and who defines that particular moral as right or wrong. As humans we have such a competitive nature built into our makeup it just seems so hard not to have some self-interest. If we look at such things as employment searches, promotions, salary increases any type of lateral employment moves; most people would like to know what’s in it for them. It has manifested itself more clearly as of recent in my opinion as we have navigated through the X Generation, Y Generation or the Millennials to what we have now, which I

Ever wondered why people engage in seemingly self-destructive behaviour? That is, why do people do things that appear to be against their best interests? Why do they continue to engage in

Bartel (1976) defines prosocial behaviour as ‘behaviour that intentionally helps or benefits another person’. Batson (1987) defines altruism as ‘helping another person for no reward, and even at some cost to oneself.’ This definition of altruism seemingly depicts the behaviour as selfless, however there is a wealth of research which suggests that this is not the case.

In an imaginary construction of a world inhabited by a single being, it is possible that the pursuit of morality is the same as the pursuit of self-interest in that what is good for the agent is the same as what is in the agent's interests. Arguably, there could never arise an

Multiple actions of lying and deception can lead to horrific consequences changing the lives of family, friends, and one true love. In the play, “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, two teenagers meet each other and instantly fall in love. Their families not only don’t get along, but actually loathe each other. The boy, Romeo, is a Montague and the girl, Juliet, is a Capulet. Throughout the play they try everything they possibly can to be together. Romeo ends up being banished from the town the two lovers live in because he killed a man named Tybalt. This causes Juliet to become upset and take actions that lead to life alerting events. She ends up faking her death causing Romeo to kill himself, which leads Juliet to taking her own life. In the end, the two lovers are no more. Who is to blame for the two teenagers tragic ending? Juliet’s selfish actions brought about the unnecessary death of Romeo and herself.

The first virtue, honesty, is essential to a life free of selfish morality. Having an honest motivation for one’s actions is what defines the morality of the action itself. To do the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing is what makes it right. If an action is performed by virtue of the fact that it is what is perceived as moral rather than what is personally moral to the individual it becomes a false morality or selfish altruism. Bertrand Russell gives a perfect example of this in his literary work, “The Happy Life” when he expounds that saving a drowning child for the sake of a direct impulse to help versus a calculated desire to be seen as virtuous denotes two contrasting moral values (Source 1).The person who saves a

The current political atmosphere has brought about a renewal in the interest of the works of Ayn Rand. The Russian-American novelist has once again been thrust into the limelight for a new generation of readers and political thinkers. Her ideas have been lauded in the Wall Street Journal and Fox News, and like many things these days, has had her ideas bent to meet certain political agendas. Much like Lenin used the ideas of Marx and Engels, the political right has used Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead to push for their version of what America should be.

Lorraine Hansberry once said “Seems like God dont see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams- but he did give us children to make them dreams seem worthwhile.” In A Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry she expresses the struggles of being a black family in the 1950s. As a black person, a dream is what they set their mind to and attempted to achieve. Walter Younger, a desperate, selfish man who has a dream for himself and his family that will do anything in his power to fulfill it. As time goes on Walter soon realizes that no money in the world is worth losing the love and support that he needs from his family.

The idea of morals is one which makes up a large part of who a person is. For some, it is what gives them purpose, for others, it can be the factor that defines their entire lives. Depending on who you talk to, it is the one thing that separates us from animals, our ability to have our own set of values that ultimately created the society that exists in today’s world. When people discuss morals, they all seem set on the right and the wrong, and that nothing would cause them to change their beliefs, no matter the circumstances. For some, however, there comes a point where no such decision can be made; when placed in an extreme circumstance, there becomes no such option other than to abandon their long-held beliefs and decide that one person’s

     Also, when a situation arises in which one must make a split decision, does the psychological egoist expect a human to deliberate whether the action is in their self-interest or not? For example, if I see my child run out onto a busy street and I can see that if I run out and grab her I can save her life and if I do not, my child will be squished by a speeding car. Do I, as the egoist would expect, take the time to deliberate that saving my child will result in all kinds of good for both her and I? No, I rush out and grab her in an instant and the good comes later. Now of course it is true that we sometimes get satisfaction and/or good feelings from acting unselfishly, but it would be a post hoc fallacy to say that we perform unselfish acts solely for the sake of that satisfaction. Also, self-interest and an interest for the welfare of others can certainly be bedfellows, and not strange ones. Using the shopkeeper example, he could opt never cheat his customers simply because he knows that honesty is good for business. He could cheat his customers and make a boatload of money, but he knows that it is wrong to cheat and lie to people – it hurts them, is unfair and may make him feel guilty. So, self-interest or selfishness is not

Are we naturally moral creatures? Do we always act towards the common good of others? I am positive that we do not, and in fact, as much as society wants to, we go against our morals and lead with our ‘feelings’. These feelings may feel right, but it doesn’t mean they will lead you in the right path to fulfil your ultimate end, true happiness. Hitler was a passionate man driven by feelings, but what he felt and did during the World War Two era was not for the sake of the common good, and was not morally right. In today’s society we often struggle between what is legally right and what is

Survival doesn’t have to require selfishness because being a good person and risking your life for others, not only your helping them but you are helping yourself become a better person. In the three articles, “Deep Survival”, “The End and the Beginning” and “An Ordinary Man”, all of the stories have something to do with survival. Each article gives a story about their survival, how they come out and how some people were not so lucky of the terrible things that happen. Surviving means to continue to live or exist, especially in spite of danger or hardship. In times of danger and hardship, is the time for calmness, positivity, and patience three most important things in survival.

However, if morality is so important, are the motives behind acting morally really all that significant? According to psychological egoism “every human action is motivated by self interest” (Rachels 64). As humans we are incapable of acting unselfishly. So what makes anyone think we could behave morally for altruistic reasons?

Human beings place great value on the interests of both themselves and others. There is a certain innate desire to

Descriptive egoism holds that for each individual, there is only one ultimate aim survival and the betterment of the sole individual based on their own hierarchical principles.