Psychological Egoism Essay -- Psychology Psychological Essays

Psychological Egoism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The descriptive claim made by Psychological Egoists is that humans, by nature, are motivated only by self-interest. Any act, no matter how altruistic it may seem on the outside is actually only a disguise for a selfish desire such as recognition, avoiding guilt, reward or sense of personal ‘goodness’ or morality. For example, Mother Teresa is just using the poor for her own long-term spiritual gain. Being a universal claim, it could falter with a single counterexample. And being that I believe this claim to be bunk I will tell you why!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If I help a friend out of trouble, there is a chance that I would feel happy afterwards. But was that happiness the motive for my actions or just the result? I didn’t save my friend in order to feel good; rather, I feel...