Category: Egoism

The theory of rational egoism developed by Ayn Rand seems an optimal approach to the resolution of personal and societal issues from the moral perspective despite the presence of contradicting opinions in this regard. At first, it seems inappropriate when considering a short-term perspective, but the idea of using reason as the only guidance can provide better results for the communities than altruism (Revisiting Ayn Rands philosophy, 2018). This standpoint can be explained by the fact that individual actions solely intended for ones benefits ultimately result in the creation of advantages for society as a whole (Revisiting Ayn Rands philosophy, 2018). In this case, the elaborated theoretical framework can ensure better outcomes for everyone since the initial motivation would be personal gains, which is easier to instill compared to collective considerations.

One of the examples of its application in practice is the issue of assistance provided to citizens in need by the government, which is deemed harmful as per the model presented by Rand. In this situation, the emphasis on ones rationality in managing various affairs as a reasonable way to make moral judgments in the decision-making process positively correlates with better results (Revisiting Ayn Rands philosophy, 2018). They can be explained by the fact that self-interest tends to turn into the interests of society over time, and the inequality in the distribution of resources among people leads to their enhanced activity (Revisiting Ayn Rands philosophy, 2018). In this case, both corporations and individuals benefit from their collaboration since it is based on mutual assistance on the grounds of shared goals. As a result, there are no problems in terms of sufficiency of resources for both citizens and different entities, and their participation in projects of different kinds is the key to prosperity.

Reference

Revisiting Ayn Rands philosophy.(2018). Ethics Sage. Web.

The argument of what constitutes as egoism is based on the principle that inevitably all human actions come from feelings that the person selfishly chooses. One perspective considers all activity that an individual carries out as being self pleasing. Even if someone wants to help another person, they are acting upon own thinking and want to please themselves by doing a good deed.

A possibility explanation is that an individual can simply get used to being a good person and does not think about immediate effect of self-worth while performing some beneficial action. In reality, either way egoism is a negative quality that has minimal benefit. It seems that people who acquire products of luxury will be benefiting from the material possessions but the greater pleasure is in helping others.

Physical objects can bring joy in and of themselves but once a person gets used to them, they stop bringing pleasure and the person is forced to get new things. In the end, the amount of goods and services that a person could get is limited. Comparing to the act of helping others physical objects will lose appeal, whereas there are many people and it would be impossible to help everyone in one lifetime.

Also, humans are social beings and are born to live in communities and societies, so in uniting for the common cause each individual is involuntarily investing in the greater good. The more people cooperate and work together, more things can be accomplished and prosperity of the nation will equal to success of a single individual. In any case, egoism will only please temporarily while helping others will benefit all.

It is hard to estimate if the majority of people are egoists or not but an assumption can be made that most individuals are not selfish. The conditions of life are such that sometimes people are forced to be selfish through circumstances. The temptation to gain personal wealth and other resources is a test that not many are able to pass.

But the fact that there are charities and volunteers proves that the world has more people who are focused on positive actions. The laws and mutual help that exist in a civilized society show that people respect and value equality and order, which leads to fairness and justice. There is a direct link to civil disobedience stemming from the fact that people will oppose anything unjust.

Sometimes, the laws and policies become outdated or start out as unfair and so, people feel the need to rebel against such laws. If a rule is immoral or discriminatory, people have all justifications to rebel and change any unfairness. Some examples or this are peaceful protests by women and racial minorities demanding an equal treatment in the society. Predispositions that existed in every nation were changed by people being disobedient and refusing to conform to the status quo.

Especially when there are large quantities of people or whole groups that get oppressed, the only reasonable response is to be civilly disobedient, as only through demonstrations the governments and other people will realize that there is a problem and something must be done to change the state of affairs. People have innate need for moral correctness and ethics, so the only way to make society better is by changing and updating current laws.

The theory of rational egoism developed by Ayn Rand seems an optimal approach to the resolution of personal and societal issues from the moral perspective despite the presence of contradicting opinions in this regard. At first, it seems inappropriate when considering a short-term perspective, but the idea of using reason as the only guidance can provide better results for the communities than altruism (“Revisiting Ayn Rand’s philosophy,” 2018). This standpoint can be explained by the fact that individual actions solely intended for one’s benefits ultimately result in the creation of advantages for society as a whole (“Revisiting Ayn Rand’s philosophy,” 2018). In this case, the elaborated theoretical framework can ensure better outcomes for everyone since the initial motivation would be personal gains, which is easier to instill compared to collective considerations.

One of the examples of its application in practice is the issue of assistance provided to citizens in need by the government, which is deemed harmful as per the model presented by Rand. In this situation, the emphasis on one’s rationality in managing various affairs as a reasonable way to make moral judgments in the decision-making process positively correlates with better results (“Revisiting Ayn Rand’s philosophy,” 2018). They can be explained by the fact that self-interest tends to turn into the interests of society over time, and the inequality in the distribution of resources among people leads to their enhanced activity (“Revisiting Ayn Rand’s philosophy,” 2018). In this case, both corporations and individuals benefit from their collaboration since it is based on mutual assistance on the grounds of shared goals. As a result, there are no problems in terms of sufficiency of resources for both citizens and different entities, and their participation in projects of different kinds is the key to prosperity.

Reference

Revisiting Ayn Rand’s philosophy.(2018). Ethics Sage. Web.