Selfishness, Bad or Good?
When someone calls another person selfish, it is usually taken in a negative sense. But why? Is it truly bad to be concerned with yourself before anyone else? If I'm crossing the street with my friend and I see a car coming at us, would I be wrong to save myself and jump out of the way rather then pushing my friend out of the way and getting hit by the car myself? Why should I value another life over mine? Who would protect me better than I can protect myself? Fortunately, I'm not alone in believing that selfishness is not a bad thing. Ayn Rand believes in the Objectivist ethics as well. The Objectivist ethics says that the actor must always be the beneficiary of his action. It holds that man must act for his own rational self-interest. After all who will value your life better than yourself? The Objectivist ethics is often misunderstood. It is widely believed that Moral Cannibalism comes from the Objectivist ethics. Moral Cannibalism says that the only way one can advance oneself is by injury to another. Ayn Rand believes in the contrary, he holds that the Objectivist ethics says that human good does not require human sacrifices and can't be achieved by the sacrifices of anyone. Ayn Ra
Moste, however, disagrees with Rand. Moste believes Universal Love will lead to everyone being happy because if people treat others like they would treat themselves, everyone would be treated well. However, if I am a follower of Universal Love, I would then have to treat someone I dislike, as I would treat myself, which would make me extremely unhappy. Under Universal Love I would have to feed, clothe, or cure of illness a person I have never seen. And, if I have to give up my food, clothe, or money for medication to someone who I don't even know, I would not be happy. To Moste that translates into me not doing something to help a friend out. On the contrary, if I were to follow the Objectivist ethics and a friend needed food, clothe, or money for medication, I would give it to them. If my friend is dying of hunger, I would give him food because if he dies then I will not be able to enjoy his company anymore. True, I am being selfish, but my friend still gets what he needs. nd explains that if a person who follows the Objectivist ethics wants a commodity from another person, that person will go about getting it is through trade. He will not kill to get it, he will simply offer something that would be of equal value to the holder of the co
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Approximate Word count = 847
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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