Egoism

Egoism is the theory that all human actions are motivated by self-interest. In other words, it is the belief that everything we do is done for selfish reasons.

According to egoism, even when people do things that seem kind or selfless, we are actually doing them for our own benefit - our actions are motivated by an expected reward for ourselves.

Here are two examples to illustrate this theory:

• Sara helps her friend Jo because it makes her feel good. The motivation is self-interest - Sara’s ‘feeling good’ reward.

• Dev helps his friend Fred because he wants Fred to help him in return later. The motivation is self-interest - the help that Dev expects to receive in the future.

Egoism claims that true selflessness (altruism) doesn’t exist because people are always motivated by what’s best for ourselves - this is just who we are. Being selfish is a natural part of human psychology - not good or bad, simply natural.

Max Stirner (19th century German philosopher) argued that egoism is not a choice, but instead is just a part of who we are as human beings. So we should not criticise people for acting out of self-interest, but instead acknowledge that this is natural human behaviour.

• All human actions are motivated by self-interest. (Max Stirner)

Stirner did not think that egoism always has to lead to greed (gaining personal wealth or possessions), but instead he understood self-interest as acting on your own choices, which are made free from external influences.

Abraham Lincoln and the pigs

There’s a story (although it is probably made up) about the 19th century president of the USA, Abraham Lincoln, that is used to support egoism. Lincoln was traveling with friends when they saw some pigs stuck in the mud. Even though his friends didn’t expect him to do anything, Lincoln stopped to help. His friends congratulated him on his kindness - and the fact that he helped the pigs even though he did not have to.

However, when asked why he stopped to help, Lincoln is reported to have said,

• Why that was the very essence of selfishness. I should have had no peace of mind all day had I gone on and left that suffering old sow worrying over those piglets. I did it to get peace of mind, don’t you see?

In other words, he would have felt bad if he had left the pigs to suffer. This shows that Lincoln’s actions, which seemed kind and motivated by concern for the pigs, were actually motivated by his own desire to avoid feeling bad - he acted out of self-interest.

Hobbes’ view of egoism

Thomas Hobbes was interested in thinking about how people live together in society. In particular he wanted to understand how society, with its government and laws, started.

Hobbes argued that before society had developed (i.e., before there was a government or any laws), life would have been chaotic and dangerous because people are naturally selfish (egoism), and so would do whatever they wanted to satisfy their own needs with no laws to stop them.

The time before society had developed is called the state of nature. According to Hobbes, in the state of nature, life would be,

• Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. (Thomas Hobbes)

This is because without laws, people (who he believed are naturally selfish) would just do what they wanted, including stealing and killing.

• With no laws, people would do what they want because they are naturally selfish. (Thomas Hobbes)

Hobbes believed that to escape the chaos, people living in the state of nature agreed to form a society with laws to control behaviour. This agreement is called a social contract. He argued that the social contract was motivated by self-interest because it gives people security - after all, it is more likely that you can do what you want if there are laws to stop people killing you.

Hobbes believed that even though after the social contract, you are not free to act on all your desires (e.g., you cannot steal something, even if you want to), on balance you get to do more of what you want in a safe society with laws that control people’s behaviour.

Argument for egoism: altruism needs to be taught

A supporter of egoism might argue that caring for others is not natural human behaviour, and that we have to teach people to behave in ways that put others first. It is believed that this is evidence for the idea that self-interest is innate (we are born with it).

• We need to teach altruism, because we are born selfish. (Richard Dawkins)

It is argued that once we have been taught that it is good to put others first, we are then capable of behaving in ways that appear altruistic, but are in fact still motivated by self-interest, because we only behave in these ways so that we fit in with the values we have been taught - we help others because we want others to think we are a good person. This is self-interested motivation.

Argument against egoism: evidence of altruism

Critics of egoism complain that none of the philosophers who support the theory (e.g., Stirner and Hobbes) actually present very convincing reasons for believing that all our actions are motivated by self-interest. Instead, it is argued, they simply assert their views without backing them up. Maybe they thought that egoism is obvious, and that everyone would agree with them. However, because the theory of egoism makes the universal claim that ALL human behaviour is motivated by self-interest, if there are cases of genuine altruistic behaviour, these would disprove the theory.

Even if some human behaviour is motivated by self-interest, it is unlikely that all behaviour is the result of self-interest. If there are cases of people who act altruistically - people who put others before themselves, and act in ways which do not lead to personal reward - then egoism is false.

Critics of egoism argue that altruism is possible, as illustrated by the following kinds of cases:

• A soldier risking their life in battle to save others;

• Someone who volunteers in a soup kitchen;

• Someone who donates an organ to save a stranger’s life.

These could count as examples of behaviour that are motivated by a human concern for others, and not self-interest. If there are genuine examples of altruistic behaviour, then they would be counter-examples to egoism.