Psychological Altruism

Is every action we make motivated by our own self interest alone? Most philosophers believe so but how hard is it to convince someone who doesn't. This age old philosophical question between psychological egoism and psychological altruism instantly sparks debate about how we as humans make decisions based off of what we believe is important. Before attempting to comprehend the debate, you should first understand a couple key definitions. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Psychological Egoism is the idea that we are always deep down motivated by what we perceive to be in our own self-interest”; “Psychological Altruism on the other hand is the counter argument to that opinion by saying that we sometimes have motives that …show more content…
I will begin by first saying that being egoistic is not wrong, but it is also not always right. If we were not so self driven, we as people would not be nearly as advanced as we are today. With this being said, there is still plenty of examples where people are altruistic in the sense that they benefit nothing from helping somebody who needs it. A great example of this would be a man saving a drowning dog from a pool. The man gains nothing from rescuing this dog, but he decides to save its life anyway. Another situation would be a woman donating a dollar to a homeless man on the street. In both of these outcomes, only the receiver of such an altruistic act is rewarded, not the giver. These acts of kindness without expecting anything in return are wonderful reminders that people are not making all decisions based off of their own self …show more content…
Abraham Lincoln was allegedly put in the same situation that you used as a reason to believe in psychological altruism. It is said that he was having a discussion about this very topic. He was arguing that we are ultimately self-interested when he ran to save a group of drowning pigs. When he returned, his friend quickly pointed out that he proved his own theory wrong by saving the piglets for no reason other than not wanting them to drown. Lincoln immediately replied, “I should have had no peace of mind all day had I gone on and left that suffering old sow worrying over those pigs. I did it to get peace of mind, don’t you see?”(Lincoln) That is a perfect defense for the view of psychological egoism. This same logic can easily be applied to the example of the woman giving the homeless man money; for she would have felt regret all day knowing that she could have helped somebody in need but chose not to do so for her own selfish ways.

Philosopher: While you do make a valid point, there are still many real life examples that can be given to prove that people are more than just egoistic. A man donating blood is a wonderful example of an altruistic act, for they have no knowledge of the people that they may be helping; or any moral obligation to do so. Another scenario for instance is a birthing mother willing to sacrifice her own life for the birth of her