Why I Reject Psychological Egoism

Response to this vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ff-4yv2ERg

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Egoism
• Psychological
• Rationality
• Ayn
• Rand

[SadisticlyHappy]

Any act you do to help someone will make you feel good inside, unless your act puts someone else in harms way. then your conscience isn't clear cause your thinking of what if. But the definition of selfishness is concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself : seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others. and if your helping someone else to get a good feeling, it still isn't selfish cause it benefited someone else aswell.

[EpistemicDuty]

As of late I have been getting tired of debating the semantics of "selfishness". If you want to define selfishness as necessarily entailing that you don't care about others, that is fine. But you are not addressing the issue of whether we should benefit others independently of whether we want to. Many self-described egoists don't object to helping others independent of "duty". But if you wish to not call them "selfish" that's fine, however you have not addressed the substance of their views.

[andrew49247]

Really small point if anybody can help me out... is there a difference between "egoism" and "egotism?" The sound of egoism is among the most discordant cacophonies that I've ever heard and I would like to never have to say that word in my lifetime, can I just say "egotism" in lieu of "egoism" in all cases?

[EpistemicDuty]

"Egoism" has a very rich history to it. It would do violence to the language to conflate "egoism" with "egotism". Egoism just has to do with living for the values that you choose only for yourself. Egotism has to do with being arrogant. Now egotism can be a form of egoism since one can choose to have arrogant values, but it is too narrow to be synonymous with it since egoism doesn't have to imply that your values are better than others, just that they are suitable to you.

[HaleyMary]

Good thought provoking video, even though I disagree with your point about atheism being impossible. While it's true that some atheists may hold philosophical beliefs about the world, they don't necessarily believe in deities, hence atheism being without a belief in a god.

[EpistemicDuty]

Actually I don't agree with that argument about atheism, I using that argument to illustrate why I thought the argument for psychological egoism is flawed.

[StudentOfObjectivism]

@organdva whatever.

[organdva]

@StudentOfObjectivism

Not other people, just objectivist. I've conspired against virtue and I'll destroy all individualism in my evil plot! muahahaha

[StudentOfObjectivism]

... Or, maybe I should point out that another implication of your stated motivations is that other people are incompetent to enjoy life without your beneficent service.

[StudentOfObjectivism]

@organdva My comment wasn't hateful at all. It was merely an attempt to show you, by means of a challenging question, the inherent contradiction in your view. As far as I can tell the only hateful person here is you. You're the one that's just made unfavorable assertions about my character and motivations. Two can play at that game. Maybe I should say, on the same arbitrary basis as you used to condemn me, that you are pathologically defensive or paranoid...

[organdva]

@StudentOfObjectivism

No, for you objectivists, I plan to make collectivism and repress remarkable individuals so they can play role of "unsuccessful victims online that build their ego on hateful comments".

[StudentOfObjectivism]

@organdva If it would make other people happy for you to kill yourself, would you do it?

[socrates123456789101]

@dhale750 That's precisely the problem. There is nothing that would even theoretically refute psychological egoism. Every conceivable story can be interpreted selfishly. Like religion, it's not falsifiable. It's not testable. Listing possible selfish motives does not prove them true.

[organdva]

@MrCharlieSinclair

How I love to annoy the arrogant minds. And congratulations! You will be the first ego philosopher who would keep his abstract thought to himself. But please, write it down so you can make us all laugh.

[organdva]

@MrCharlieSinclair

You miss entire point. You as all people who use language have learn it from other people - society. Philosophy doesn't require language? Abstract thought without language? I see why you didn't name one egoist philosopher. Your ego is blocking the path to rationality.

Yes, species. Pointing out to secondary issues like writing errors shows your lack of argument. And to address your insults - you are just projecting your ignorance. Google: Dunning–Kruger effect

[organdva]

@MrCharlieSinclair

I'll repeat: Nobody invents his own language. No thinking and no philosophy without usage of language. You can't deny history of thought, also.

Psychological egoism can be simply put in question by invoking "survival of the spices" which can be in opposition to "survival of the individual". Self sacrifice is "logical" from biological perspective. American Ego psychologists ignore the unconsciousness which is crucial to human development. Psychoanalysis is much more than ego.