2.Egoism and Altruism - Essay Example

Psychological Egoism Vis-À-Vis Self-Interest Perhaps one of the most controversial issues in sociology is the issue of psychological egoism. It is quite difficult to depict which act is purely altruistic and which one is psychologically egoistic. According to psychological egoism, at least some form of self-interest drives all our acts (Surhone, Timpledon,  & Marseken, 2010). There are two great examples of people who acted not out of self-interest but due to their love for others. The first example is Mother Teresa.

Whereas Mother Teresa dedicated all her life in support and care for humanity, it is hard to argue that all that she did was out of self-interest. In fact, she is considered as one of the most selfless people to ever have lived. She dedicated her life in service to humanity. The same case happens to many of us when we do voluntary or religions based work. Nelson Mandela spent countless years in prison not for altruistic motives but for the love of his country. Although the above altruistic acts are certainly done out of love, psychological egoists might claim that the acts are driven by indirect gains such as ultimate gratification, promise of good life after death, as in case of Mother Teresa.

Service to church, for instance, could be claimed to be an act of self-interest since we want our actions to be right with God. Serving the community could be interpreted as a form of leveraging security and assistance from the same society in case of any in eventualities in the future. ReferenceSurhone, L., Timpledon, M., & Marseken, S. (2010). Psychological Egoism. New York: VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller e.K..