Humanities Homework Help

Sofia Burciaga

Individual self-interest determines the motivation for each individual action under egoism. To put it another way, egoism is excessive self-interest.

In today’s society, ethical egoism is prevalent. People used to think just on their own self-interest under ethical egoism. Although, no one is obligated to support the interests of others. On the other side, psychological egoism describes the fundamental characteristics of human nature.

According to Adam Smith, the best method to promote the common good is for everyone to pursue their own self-interest. This is due to the fact that people are generally the greatest judges of their own interests, and they are more motivated to work hard in order to get monetary or non-monetary rewards.

The principle of impartiality is incompatible with ethical egoism. When an issue or a disagreement emerges, it has no remedies to provide. Ethical egoism also teaches us to distinguish between ourselves and others, and that our own interests should be prioritized.

Altruism, on the other hand, prioritizes the interests of others over one’s own. Altruism is a way of life in which people sacrifice for the benefit of others without expecting anything in return, whether monetary or non-monetary.

Neoclassical economists believe that humans will do whatever it takes to enhance their own wealth. That is, antruism is a behavior in which a third party benefits at the expense of the altruist. Altruism activities can be maintained provided those who support others and are supported in return.

References:

MacKinnon, B., & Fiala, A. (2017). Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues (9th Edition). Cengage Learning US. https://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781337515443

Student #2

Brendon Plunkett

Not being very familiar with the TV show or book and just getting an idea of the premise of them it seems like both portray characters having egoistic and altruistic values depending on their situations in how it suited them at the moment or in their want to achieve a final goal, which seemed to be to survive. Regarding these two works I don’t think they are necessarily at odds but maybe more fluid in the individual as in when it suits me, I’ll be XXXXX. Chapter 4 of our textbook gives an example of President Lincoln wading through water to help piglets and his reason being it would bother him knowing if he did not render some type of aid when he was able to. Perhaps he could care less about pigs, piglets or animals in general, but could it be that being in a position he help when there was struggle, regardless of the subject (unless he had hard opposition to that subject I would assume) it would bother him to not? That appears to be a selfless act, but it was done for selfish reasons.

I do not believe that self-preservation is necessarily bad but if it is your only focus it may very well defeat your goal. The pre flight safety brief before takeoff as you sit on the runway tells you “if there is a change in cabin pressure oxygen mask will fall from the overhead and appear in front of you…”. They go on to say if you are traveling with someone who needs assistance be sure to secure your mask first. I think this is a pretty good example of if you are not well you can’t help someone else. In normal life it seems that ethical egoism has the potential to better benefit a community and be in line with the “social contract” in that personal success (for whatever reason your goal is) has better potential to benefit others as you succeed as opposed to let me help someone else at my own detriment and hope they reciprocate.

Ms. Rand’s idea of wanting to do for yourself may seem selfish to some but I don’t think it threatens the moral values of American society. Wanting to excel and succeed to achieve a goal, regardless of your reasons, has potential to help others even if it is unintended and peripheral. It may not be your intention but still benefits others. The moral values of today seem to shift like an eroding beach line but in its purest form I would say trying to excel independently in your endeavors, caring and being willing to help your fellow citizens and accepting that a different point of view isn’t an assault on yours but rather a point to discuss are some things that keep our American Experiment running the way it does.

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