Human selfishness Essay

“the word ‘selfishness’ is a synonym of evil; the image it conjures is of a murderous brute who tramples over piles of corpses to achieve his own ends . . .”(Novel & Works). Even though this is what most people imagine selfishness as being like, this is not the actual definition of the word. This is how Ayn Rand explains it: “This concept does not include a moral evaluation; it does not tell us whether concern with one’s own interests is good or evil”(Novel & Works). So, selfishness really just…

forward a theory that the argument provided by Rand is a very destructive one for the society as it encourages an individual to put their own happiness and their own selfish motives ahead of other's good. According to Pojman, Rand believes that selfishness is a virtue and altruism is a vice. Pojman further criticizes the theory where Rand clearly mentions that altruism requires self-sacrifice. As the sacrifice of our interests is not aligned with the real interests of an individual, it shall…

The utopian image of life consists of never ending happiness with laugh, smiles, and love. However, life is not always perfect, it consists of duality, a combination of happiness and suffering. Suffering is inevitable, it is a characteristic of human existence. Suffering may be defined as anything that causes one pain or discomfort physically, mentally or emotionally. The pain associated with suffering is unique and individual, as the feelings associated with suffering are different for each…

Human character's lack of pity can be seen in the townspeople who mistreat the poor winged man. For instance, when the incapacitated old man was found by the couple, he was rudely dragged through the mud and was locked in the chicken coop instead of being helped. The couple treated him without any mercy and they didn't give him any sort of aid. In addition, this lack of mercy through the story is developed into cruelty since the crowd who came to see him even began to torture the pitiful…

cause of suffering; a better answer is holding humans responsible for the reason people have to suffer. Satan is blamed for everything evil, which is true to a certain extent; however, not a lot of individuals take their own actions into consideration. Humans tend to blame other individuals for their actions because it takes away their feeling of guilt. I will show that it is in fact humans who cause a lot of the suffering in the world. God gave humans the responsibility to make decisions for…

Human nature is general psychological qualities regarded to be shared by all humans to some degree. Yet, what those qualities that are human nature has been debated for thousands of years. In chapter 5 (Psychological Egoism) of James Rachels’ book, The Elements of Moral Philosophy, Rachels refutes the arguments of psychological egoism. While there are many humans that are motivated by self-interest, it is wrong to assume that all humans have the same motivation. In the beginning of the chapter,…

successful. Perfume must live through time; through youth, maturity, and old age in order to be successful. The first stage of dissipation of the head of a perfume exposes the selfish human being during its youth. The second stage of dissipation of the heart of the perfume represents the true desires and purpose of a human being that is exposed in its time of maturity. The final stage of dissipation of the base of the perfume embodies the soul which exposes the malevolent behavior of humanity.…

Humanity demonstrates how easy it is to get into a routine, because it is something simple and comfortable to do. In The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, Gregor’s death was essential to the theme, because it demonstrated many human qualities such as vulnerability and selfishness. It was imperative for him to die, because his death represents the fall of man, there was no reason left to live, but after his necrosis was taken very lightly. Gregor is a symbol of man, and the apple represents the fall…

Since the beginning of mankind, all human beings have and always will be selfish. There is no such thing a selfless good deed and altruism has ceased to exist. Selfishness is what allowed survival of the fittest. Julian Barnes touches on the subject in “The Visitors”, the second chapter of his novel, A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters. In doing so, he relates two events in which a monkey and a man, Franklin Hughes, are left to make the ultimate decision of saving a loved one or making a…

Which philosopher provides the greatest argument to explain human nature and our ethical being? Without a doubt, I argue that Xunzi’s position of human nature being innately evil is the best position. This argument justifies corrupt behavior simply as inexperience and allows man to grow into virtue through teaching and guidelines. In what follows, I will provide Xunzi’s position on human nature and values. After that, I will describe Mencius’s position and present his counter-arguments to give…