Egoism vs Altruism - 884 Words

2013SP-PHIL-202-006W Egoism vs. Altruism 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. The specific quote by Ayn Rand which states, â€Å"The proper method of judging when or whether one should help another person is by†¦show more content†¦Much as Lenin’s real world application of Communism did not work, a similar experiment of Rand’s ideas would be similarly disastrous. Marx and Rand are opposite sides of the same coin. Theories and reason are always a good basis, but once human beings are involved, strict application of these ideas are nearly impossible without the almost police-state-type-laws against anything that strays from them. Happiness comes in all forms and cannot be pigeon-holed into one definition. To one man an $8000 shower curtain is happiness, to another it is a sunset or giving someone a warm meal. Personally speaking, I enjoy Rand and Marx equally. They were both able to point out problems in the system they lived in and they visualized their own personal utopia. I don’t believe either would be happy now with how their ideas of something they thought was truly good, and came from wanting to make a better society, was perverted to bring about the political machinations of a few. My utopia stands somewhere between Rand and Marx and while I think it’s nearly perfect, I understand that once the human race tries to implement it, that even my utopia, my implementing what makes ME happy, will not make everyone happy. At that point it ceases to be a utopia and become tyranny and we must start all overShow MoreRelatedEgoism And Ethical Egoism1291 Words   |  6 Pagesthis paper, I am going t o be using The Fundamentals of Ethics by Russ Shafer-Landau and Psychological Egoism and Hobbes by Hun Chung in order to talk about and give more insight on psychological egoism and ethical egoism. There are many things to know and learn such as what these theories are and how they are different and alike as well as other components supporting each theory. Psychological Egoism states that human actions are based on self-interest, even if the action appears to be selfless. ItRead MoreMy Opinion On Ethics And Life999 Words   |  4 Pagesare choosing between right vs. right. I learned that there are not always a right and a wrong or a right answer at all. For example, the example given in the book deals with abortion and it just depends how you are looking at it whether it is right or wrong. Altruism was an ethical theory that I was very connected with. I believe in altruism, and wish that it was more common. Altruism is doing things with no motivation from your own personal needs. Unlike ethical egoism which says you should onlyRead More1. Introduction Altruism is unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others; behaviour by1700 Words   |  7 Pages1. Introduction Altruism is unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others; behaviour by an animal that is not beneficial to or may be harmful to itself but that benefits others of its species. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, n.d.) We often may feel like we are doing something to benefit others, but consider Darwinian evolution, which is the theory according to which species evolve by natural selection - the basic mechanism of evolution whereby those individuals in a population thatRead MoreEssay about Utilitarianism: Explanation And Study of Criticisms3046 Words   |  13 Pagescome up with a list of true (vs. merely perceived) interests. Utilitarianism may be incompatible with a principle of justice. A serious problem for utilitarianism comes in trying to respond to the following question. Utilitarianism requires that we do that action which produces the most amount of good (in the proper time period). But, for whom is the good produced? For oneself; egoism? For everyone elses benefit but oneself; altruism? For everyones benefit, ones Read MoreProfessional Ethics10396 Words   |  42 Pagesa respectful hearing. The same is not true, however, for individualism in ethics. Individualism in ethics is the thesis of egoism: the view that the individual is the standard of value, that individuals are ends in themselves. But traditional ethics has always found egoism to be highly problematic. So it has always found large†scale and consistent expressions of egoism problematic—such as those in the business world. The business world is a network of individuals, each with his own agenda inRead MoreThe Philosophy of Happiness11705 Words   |  47 Pagesand Aquinas taught that we must love our neighbour, as we are commanded to do by the God whose vision we seek. But in each case the concern for the welfare of others is presented as a means to an ultimate goal of self-fulfilment. Fulfilment and Altruism The first philosopher in the Christian tradition to break with this eudaimonism was the fourteenth century Oxford Franciscan, John Duns Scotus. While Augustine and Aquinas had followed Aristotle in placing happiness at the apex of their ethical systemsRead MoreSources of Ethics20199 Words   |  81 Pagespersists across related species. Chimpanzees are our closest relatives, separated from us by a mere 2 percent difference in DNA sequence. We and they share behaviours that are characteristic of highly social primates, including nurturing, cooperation, altruism, and even some facial expressions. Genes are evolutionary glue, binding all of life in a single history that dates back some 3.5 billion years. Conserved behaviours are part of that history, which is written in the language of natures universal