Many ethicists point to \"the egoism versus altruism dilemma” as one of the basi

Question

Many ethicists point to "the egoism versus altruism dilemma” as one of the basic questions of ethics.”

Here is the way I understand the question being discussed in this debate (I break it down into several parts):

1) Is it ever possible for a human being to do something completely selfless? As we have seen, almost every good action can be shown to have some positive benefit for the person who does it -- even if that positive benefit is emotional or psychological, it still benefits the person.

2) Is "selflessness" a requirement of ethical behavior? I think this gets to the root of the debate that we will watch unfold over the course of the semester. Is it ethically wrong to do something for someone else because of how it benefits you? Or, perhaps we can rephrase this: is there any ethical value in helping someone else for the sake of receiving something back in return? Or, we can ask the question this way: "Is it ethically wrong to be selfish?"

3) Does motivation even matter? Why should we care why a person does something -- why is it important? Are the results (consequences) the ultimate decider of ethical behavior? If an action helps someone, then is it ethically good regardless of why I do it?

What do you think of these questions?

Explanation / Answer

Egoism is best described as putting your own interests before anyone else. It is a survival instinct or mechanism that is inbuilt in us for the sake of survival of our own kind. In psychological sense it is described that a person will always act for their own self-interest, even when it appears as if they are not. Altruism can be defined as a desire to help others without regard for your own interests. It is something we develop through our culture, religion or as morals.

This is a very big dilemma. Many researchers believe that there can never be a purely altruistic move because either consciously or unconsciously people have one motive or another. If there is no motive then people do these acts for satisfaction of their ego. By doing good thing people feel a happiness which is linked to their ego getting satisfied. But at the same time there ae researchers who believe that everything is not about motive or satisfying the ego. Some people can be truly selfless. There is no need for a motivation or profit for them. These ideologies cause and endless debate for Egoism vs Altruism Dilemma. Answers to your question from a point of view as a psychologist:

1) The answer would be "no" if we are using common definitions of altruism. Because as a evolutionary being at some point of time we put our and our loved one's need first to ensure survival of our kind. On a temporary basis selflessness is possible but a consistent selfless life is unsustainable and impossible. If selflessness is making us feel happy (consciously or unconsciously) then we might have had a motive or we satisfied our ego as believed by some researchers. In certain aspect of our life we also fear punishment. Certain acts of selflessness are done by us due to the fear of law or because we feel we might be unethical. There will always be some positive benefit involved either emotional, psychological or physical associated with acts of selflessness that will make it look less selfless.

2) Yes, there are certain ethical behavior that are associated with selflessness. The closest approximations to selfless acts are those acts of a soldier, firefighters, police, volunteers, charity workers, etc. Even for them there are always some kind of benefits like physical perks, or self-gratification that overshadow their act of selflessness. Jobs of police, firefighter, soldier, etc. are associated with ethical behavior. As a firefighter it is unethical and punishable to let a person perish in fire in front of you while you stand there and watch, doing nothing. Same goes for a soldier or police to let an enemy of state or country kill innocent people, etc. In return they receive salary (for their job) or a medal for bravery for their selfless act which completely defeats the purpose of purely selfless act. It is not wrong to be selfish but it is wrong ethically to not help someone when they really need someone's help.

3) Yes, in many cases motivation or fear of punishment decides the act of selflessness. In many cases the results maybe the ultimate decider of ethical behavior. But not always. There are many people who act out of pure kindness or because they think that it is morally right. If someone has fallen down on the road you will see many people just standing there watching, but there will always be few who will, regardless of what they might get or not, help that person up and make sure they are alright. Even though they might have felt a satisfaction of ego or gratification of feeling they did it because they felt that this is the right thing to do, morally. So if someone helps others regardless of why they do it is not only ethically right, but it may also be the right thing to do morally.

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