What is, "doing good because it makes you feel good" anything other than self interest?
Originally posted by Nicodemus
I think you are wrong. I think it is direct self interest and, perhaps through mirror neurons, indirect self interest that, convoluted by culture, perpetuate morality.
Originally posted by JocktheMotie
What is, "doing good because it makes you feel good" anything other than self interest?
The whole point of morality is to make the decision not to act in self-interest...
Originally posted by Victor
If you are betting on a horse race, always put your money on the horse called, "Self Interest", 'cause you know they are trying to win.
It isn't.Um, what? Please explain how being selfish in our society is considered moral?
Please explain how being selfish in our society is considered moral?
Originally posted by Nicodemus
It isn't.
Originally posted by Victor
Since, "The Wealth of Nations", by Adam Smith was published in 1776, we have known that private greed leads to public prosperity.
Prior to 1776 we believed private greed was socially destructive, and we gave it the name of, "Usury", and we demonised usurers and persecuted them.
Modern economics is based on, "The Wealth of Nations". And most important, modern economics is counter-intuitive.
Unfortunately most uneducated people still think intuitively, when modern economics, modern science and modern politics are all counter-intuitive.
So the average uneducated person does not understand what is going on around them, so they turn to intuitive nostrums to make sense of it all.
There are many intuitive nostrums to bury ourselves in but the familiar ones are the New Age, Astrology and MBTI.
MBTI is like the bucket to catch those who can't make sense of the counter-intuitive world we live in.
This is tragic on one level and comic on another, as we have been able to climb out of the bucket since 1776!
To truly follow the moral law is to put aside self interest and follow moral commands unconditionally.
That's what I think anyway. What do you think?
I dont know, which is to say I do no necessarily agree.
It could correspond to certain moral precepts to suggest that obligations to take paramountcy over selfishness, however, it could also correspond to certain sorts of neurotic personality structure or character or maladaption or maladjustment. Eric Fromm did some interesting investigation of this in his books, particularly Man For Himself, he distinguished between self-love or self-interest, which he thought where legitimate, and selfishness. He's a great source because he has great affinity with socialist thinkers but he's pretty critical of the sorts of psychologically maladjusted behaviour that some of its supporters or writers have exhibited or typified.
Ayn Rand goes to extremes in seeking to parody the sort of self-sacrificing personality while celebrating selfishness but the essential idea that people sacrificing themselves or sacrifice per se can be a great evil. I know that Rand and her followers wouldnt agree because they are anti-Christian some of them but because of my understanding of Christianity I would condemn sacrifice qua sacrifice or for its sake because the scriptues exhibit a steady progression away from holocausts and sacrifices, finally God sacrifices himself and I pretty much see that as an end to that kind of thing.
Its perhaps a psychological rather than moral philosophical angle that I'm approaching it from but I think that self-interest is a fundamental objective reality, taking it to pathological extremes is wrong but I think it is a lived reality, the same as radical interdependence is a reality too. Balance, the golden rule and the golden mean are the best guides for life.
Would you agree if I said that you are a Virtue Ethicist?
My only concern though is that while I hold certain things to be good and practice those assiduously myself I'm less sure about compelling others to do likewise, sometimes its a sure thing that they should and I make no bones about that, I'm not on message with never making a judgement or being judgemental but by the same token there's a difference between that an many of the authoritarian mindsets which use virtue as a flag of convenience.
My only concern though is that while I hold certain things to be good and practice those assiduously myself I'm less sure about compelling others to do likewise, sometimes its a sure thing that they should and I make no bones about that, I'm not on message with never making a judgement or being judgemental but by the same token there's a difference between that an many of the authoritarian mindsets which use virtue as a flag of convenience.
To truly follow the moral law is to put aside self interest and follow moral commands unconditionally.
That's what I think anyway. What do you think?