Philosophers have long argued about the correct way to organize a group of people to maximize safety, happiness, and order. John Stuart Mill and Plato, two prominent philosophers of their respective eras, created contradicting theories on how best to create a flourishing society. Although their theories are different, Mill and Plato both focus on the roles of people in society. Mill specifically believes that people should act in ways that promote self-benefit while avoiding harming another person (2002, p. 8).…
The short story written by James Hurst “ The Scarlet Ibis” elucidates that a selfish deed is not always bad. The story starts with the narrator, Brother, and his little brother Doodle. When Doodle was born he was red and all shriveled up, a disappointment, and everyone thought that he was going to die. When their mother always told Brother to take Doodle with him everywhere he went, Brother was embarrassed to be seen with his 5 year old brother, who couldn’t walk, but had to be pulled everywhere in a mini go-cart. The narrator made it his mission to set out to teach Doodle to walk and everything else, so he wasn’t behind everyone in his grade.…
People are selfish beings. Yes, some are more than others; some are less selfish than others. One of those people goes by the name Julius Caesar, who was very selfish. Caesar had been a General of the Roman Empire in 44 BC. He was expecting to be crowned King of Rome when a conspiracy group rose up and assassinated him.…
In the late 1700s, the United States was just forming and Founding Fathers, like Ben Franklin, were just beginning to lay down the foundations of what would become one of the most powerful nations in the world. In 1776, the United States gained their freedom from Great Britain, meanwhile on the other side of the world, people were being taken from their homes and forced into slavery. These two events helped mold the lives of Ben Franklin and Olaudah Equiano. Now you’re probably wondering how these two men are similar seeing how Ben Franklin is white, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States while Equiano is a former African slave, right? Well as it turns out, Equiano based his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life…
When reading these stories, “The Three-Century Woman” and “Charles”, you will quickly realize that the two main characters have many similarities and differences. The main character in “The Three-Century Woman” is Great-Grandma Breckenridge. Great-Grandma Breckenridge is 102 years old and she has lived in Whispering Oaks (a nursing home) for about 20 years. Also, the main character in “Charles” is Laurie. Laurie is a young child just starting kindergarten and is very clever and mischievous.…
In this essay, I will defend psychological egoism as the most probable explanation for moral choice and motivation. I hold psychological egoism to be “the view that all men are selfish in everything that they do, that is, that the only motive from which anyone ever acts is self-interest” (Rachels 233). Since every action is moved by a desire to be satisfied, even in supposedly altruistic acts, one acts on a desire to satisfy one’s desire, so that supposedly altruistic acts are not actually altruistic. James Rachels, to whom my defining of psychological egoism is attributed, counters psychological egoism as incorrect moral skepticism. In the form of a Platonic dialogue, I will present, if successful, the impossibility for any ‘moral’ conduct beyond psychological egoism, counteracting Rachels own refutation in his essay, “Egoism and Moral Scepticism.”…
Buddha, Hume, and Mill are the night and day of philosophical theorists. Buddha offers thoughts about consequentialism while Hume teaches sentimentalism. Mill's philosophy about utilitarianism contrasts Hume's sentimentalist theory. The order Buddha, Hume, and Mill is presented diagrams an obscure theory between virtue ethics and utilitarianism. While reviewing these philosophical theorists, they may be considered the yin and yang of philosophical studies.…
In this paper, I will argue that people who should be considered to be altruistic are those who act magnanimously to those outside of their family or general social group. I will use examples such as kin selection, animal altruism, and arguments against psychological egoism to assist in proving my thesis to be true. I will also address a counter argument made by some psychological egoists who believe that due to most people feeling pleasure while doing good things for others, that there are no people only act selfishly. I will reference James Rachel ’s essay “Psychological Egoism” to help enhance my theory that not all acts must be out of self interest.…
David Hume was one of the most influential philosophers of his time and continues to be mentioned and studies to this day. Almost equally as impressive was the response that philosopher Immanuel Kant had to his Inquiry of Human Understanding. Kant attempted to respond to Hume’s ideas and in this essay, I will identify the Hume’s beliefs behind the concepts such as cause, and effect and I will later defend Kant’s response to Hume. He raises points that leave his reader with a deeper understanding of his concept and explicitly outlines his beliefs on the concepts that Hume covers in his Human Inquiry.…
Being fixated entirely on self interest can easily cloud an individual's ability to empathize. The opposite is also true in that constantly empathizing can allow an individual to neglect themselves and prevent them from bettering themselves. Both of these extremes have the potential to result in prejudicial behaviors. Nonetheless, when self interest and empathy are expressed with the appropriate level of restraint, the result has the capacity to be harmonious and the ability to maximize advantage outcomes. “Too Much Happiness” by Alice Munro, demonstrates how even a glimpse of empathy can result in the betterment of an individual's interests in addition to the subject of their compassion’s.…
David Hume and Immanuel Kant are both known for their great contributions to moral philosophy. Hume who is mainly known for his empiricism, skepticism and naturalism and Kant who is best recognized for his great work in metaphysics, ethics and also for his contributions in others disciplines in the area of philosophy. Although they were both exceptional philosophers and gave stupendous apports, Hume and Kant agreed nor differed in various aspect and ideas. Hume believed and is mostly based on his empiricism which involves the theory of the mind. Hume’s empiricism consist in to affirm that the moral foundation is not in the reason but in the senses.…
In this paper, I will be analyzing and explaining the way that Hobbes and Rousseau’s ideas regarding the national condition of human beings differ. In my exegesis, I will be discussing how in Leviathan (ch. 13), Hobbes takes a stance regarding egoism, the idea that man always acts in their own interest. I will also be discussing the fact that Rousseau is fundamentally opposed to the ideas in which Hobbes presents. Rousseau believes that society taints the fundamental core beliefs of mankind. I will then present the critical point of this paper: the fact that the two philosophers have very conflicting viewpoints on the concept of human nature.…
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert L. Stevenson and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë are both stories that have a sense of drama and mystery to them, where the plot unravels at the very end of the novel. Although both stories seem to tremendously differ from each other, both Stevenson and Brontë have used similar themes at certain points of their novels. However, though both stories have key similarities that link them to one another, both also have differences that create a noticeable gap between them. Both authors share similar main ideas, or themes, throughout their novels, which reflect in the plot of both stories. In Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and Brontë’s “Jane Eyre” the main idea of women…
Socrates and Rene Descartes are alike in their most fundamental motives but yet contrasting in results both trying to improve thinking but about two different things. One example would be how they each convey their message formal versus informal, another would be their life style and beliefs of how things should be done. Both Socrates and Descartes have completely different views on getting their desired results, and the level of risk one is willing to take to accomplish certain results. Socrates and Descartes even had vastly different upbringing, and views on which sciences are important and others’ inferior to the rest.…
“Eve’s Diary” and “Adams Diary” both describe the biblical narrative of the Garden of Eden and the beginning of original sin. In both stories they first two humans on Earth succumb to eating from the forbidden tree of knowledge, thus changing the world forever. However, even though basis of the narrative is the same they differ fundamentally on many levels. The main difference between the two stories is the narrator, in “Eve’s Diary” Eve describes her experience of the narrative, whereas in “Adam’s Diary” Adam tells his very different perspective of similar events. The structure of “Adam’s Diary” and “Eve’s Diary” is set up in the same fashion of telling the story through days of the week.…