Chapter 6 Egoism, Self-Interest & Altruism

reciprocal altruism

..., Behavior that benefits another with the expectation that those benefits will be returned in the future.

paradox of ethical egoism

..., To reach the goal of egoism one must give up egoism and become (to some extent) an altruist, the very antithesis of egoism.

state of nature

...A society, without laws or agreed-on morality

successful morality (evolution.)

...That is, groups who adopted morality increased their chances of surviving, and those that didn't eventually died out.

sociobiology

...which theorizes that social structures and behavioral patterns, including morality, have a biological base explained by evolutionary theory.

altruism

Acts that involve putting other people's interests ahead of our own

chronically selfish

Every decision is made in a way that ultimately serves the best interest of the company and only that company.

psychological egoism

The belief that we have no choice but to act selfish in everything that we do, the only reason we ever do anything is out of self-interest

ethical egoism

The moral view that everyone ought to always do those acts that will best serve his or her own best interest and that they have the choice to act that way or not

self-interest

We are concered to promote our own good, although not necessarily at any cost

reciprocity

good deeds should be rewarded, Bad behavior should be punished i.e eye for an eye, Tooth for a tooth.

utilitarian

selfintrest for the good of all

moral obligation

something that you are obligated to do because of certain moral standards you may have

altruism (Rand)

that any action taken for the benefit of others is good, and any action taken for one's own benefit is evil. Thus the beneficiary of an action is the only criterion of moral value—and so long as that beneficiary is anybody other than oneself, anything goes.

selfishness

that we sacrifice the good of others for our own good, even when it is unjust to do so.