Foundation of Morality
Over the years, varying theories have been adopted to explain the foundation of morality within an individual. This is referred as Egoism and can take either be normative or a clear position. There are different types of egoism which entail psychological, ethical and rational egoism. According to Tilley (72), psychological egoism refers to the view that, self-interest is the primary motivating factor behind their actions. The doctrine holds the belief that, their self-desire or self-interest always motivate the human being. In simple words, the theory argues that people choose to offer help to others as a result of what they gain from their actions whether directly or indirectly. This essay provides an argument against the aspect psychological egoism.
Disapproving Psychological Egoism
Over the past decades, different arguments have been established to counter the understanding or the position of psychological egoism which argues that, human behavior in a way that is to benefit them all the times. However, after consideration of numerous other factors, the psychological argument does not hold. According to May (29), human beings are recognized to possess genuine generosity as well as real malevolence. As a result of natural benevolence and hatred, the human mind and spirit can either be driven to act in a way to fulfill their desires whether may be good or evil. An excellent example to disapprove psychological egoism is that of acts of Mother Teresa. According to Tilley (76), Mother Teresa was used to help the poor, the needy, the sick as well as children due to her inborn or genuine benevolence. Neither because of what she would get in reward, nor any benefits had she expected from the people she had helped. Psychological egoism, in turn, does not hold as people can act voluntarily from their genuine benevolence.
Multiple Motives
Another argument that disapproves psychological egoism states that an individual can possess numerous motives when executing an action, and in turn, some reasons may be of interest while other purposes may be other people gain or not self-beneficially. For example, a man may offer his seat on a bus to an old lady due to some reasons (May 36). On the side of a supporter of psychological egoism, this action may be said to be an act of setting an excellent example to the young ones on the bus. However, he may also have done so to feel good that he offered help to a needy person. On the other hand, he may have viewed it to be dangerous for an old lady to stand in a moving bus, he may have realized he was almost to his destination, hence a noble act for him to offer a seat to the lady among other reasons. Finally, there are endless actions by people all over the globe behaving altruistically as they chose to put the interests of others before their own. Example of these actions includes, blood donation, contributing to charity. Peoples actions are derived my different feelings or desires such as lust, love, hate and anger.
Conclusion: Human Actions and Altruism
In conclusion, human actions aren’t solely as a result of self-desire or interest, but instead can be as a result of influence from other factors such as benevolence, other people’s welfare among other varying motives. This, in turn, supports the aspect of altruism which endorses the element of selflessness. People may act in a way not because of their desire to fulfill their self-interest but rather because it’s the right thing to do.
References
Tilley, John J. "John Clarke of Hull's Argument for Psychological Egoism." British Journal for the History of Philosophy, vol. 23, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 69-89.
May, Joshua. "Egoism, Empathy, and Self-Other Merging." Southern Journal of Philosophy, vol. 49, 02 June 2011, pp. 25-39.
