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.
In my perception of what altruism should truly be, I believe that most acts could be considered …show more content…
While an extremely useful advantage for the warriors of the hive to have, the toxin kills the ants in the process. So even though the hive remains protected, the ant lost his life in the effort to protect his family, but this was his main job in his life much like Private Anderson.Though they were required to make the ultimate sacrifice, the ant served his ultimate purpose and Private Anderson was able to protect those whom he considered family and helped them complete their mission, enforcing the key principles of kin and animal altruism. These key premises are oriented toward the idea that we are more likely to act altruistically towards people we can relate to and the progression of their species no matter the consequences to oneself. These are important to remember in the animal kingdom and an human family-like relationship because though heroic, they could not describe true altruism. In the case of Private Anderson, he sacrificed his life to save his brothers because he knew that they would do the same for him if it were the other way around and in the case of the ant, it was his job in the colony to protect the colony no matter what. So though they gave up their lives for their families, they were only doing what they knew was expected of …show more content…
In the case of true altruism, it is important that the person you are helping have no relationship to yourself. This is a crucial part to selflessness because you have nothing to directly gain from handing a homeless person a dollar on the street or going to a third world country to help build schools or homes, besides joy in helping other people. These selfless actions can be supported by Rachel’s argument which is that though it is very rare for a truly altruism act to occur, it is not selfish to want to help other people. Rachel’s argues for this by saying “We must first want to help them before we can get any satisfaction out of it. The good feelings are a by-product; they are not what we are after. Thus, having those feelings is not a mark of selfishness” (Rachel 117). Rachel backs this point up with explaining how many people confuse the concept of selfishness with self-interest, saying that just because something is in your best interest that does not mean that it is selfish unless it impacts another person
In my perception of what altruism should truly be, I believe that most acts could be considered …show more content…
While an extremely useful advantage for the warriors of the hive to have, the toxin kills the ants in the process. So even though the hive remains protected, the ant lost his life in the effort to protect his family, but this was his main job in his life much like Private Anderson.Though they were required to make the ultimate sacrifice, the ant served his ultimate purpose and Private Anderson was able to protect those whom he considered family and helped them complete their mission, enforcing the key principles of kin and animal altruism. These key premises are oriented toward the idea that we are more likely to act altruistically towards people we can relate to and the progression of their species no matter the consequences to oneself. These are important to remember in the animal kingdom and an human family-like relationship because though heroic, they could not describe true altruism. In the case of Private Anderson, he sacrificed his life to save his brothers because he knew that they would do the same for him if it were the other way around and in the case of the ant, it was his job in the colony to protect the colony no matter what. So though they gave up their lives for their families, they were only doing what they knew was expected of …show more content…
In the case of true altruism, it is important that the person you are helping have no relationship to yourself. This is a crucial part to selflessness because you have nothing to directly gain from handing a homeless person a dollar on the street or going to a third world country to help build schools or homes, besides joy in helping other people. These selfless actions can be supported by Rachel’s argument which is that though it is very rare for a truly altruism act to occur, it is not selfish to want to help other people. Rachel’s argues for this by saying “We must first want to help them before we can get any satisfaction out of it. The good feelings are a by-product; they are not what we are after. Thus, having those feelings is not a mark of selfishness” (Rachel 117). Rachel backs this point up with explaining how many people confuse the concept of selfishness with self-interest, saying that just because something is in your best interest that does not mean that it is selfish unless it impacts another person