Selfishness

Are humans selfish or selfless? Kohn’s main assertion in his article “The Wrong Way to Get People to Do the Right Thing” is that at the basis of human nature, we are all selfish. We have incentives to be kind or charitable, whether that is to be viewed as a selfless individual or to obtain a prize or recognition. There are also incentives, such as better health and longevity, that motivate people to help one another in the community. The most critical view, in my opinion, would be the financial incentives that are acquired through trying to help others. In the end, the ultimate question is “What do I get out of it?”. Kohn proves this by using multiple experimental examples. Kohn uses various experimental evidence, such as when elementary students had to donate and received either a praise or a comment for their contribution, to explain the innate behavior of how kids respond to incentives. Kids learn right from wrong, and they also understand what feels gratifying and what doesn’t. In that experiment, the kids who were praised would continue to donate because they felt they were making an impact on the other child and were looked upon as a kinder person. We may see it through experiments, but this is also evident in policy making. According to Lisbeth Schorr, raising the well-being of everyone’s lives doesn’t come from altruism, but the want to …show more content…
But I don’t agree it’s always to let others view ourselves as better. We help others because we gain from the experience and it allows us to make ourselves feel worthy in the community. Other people may or may not witness our actions, but we always know deep down that we are contributing as a valuable individual. This should be the incentive for helping. There is no doubt that people act a certain way and do certain things to benefit themselves or others, but there is always a better way of looking at these kinds of situations instead of in a negative