This research paper will aim to examine the veracity of the claim that humans are invariably motivated by self interest. In the philosophy there have been numerous debates concerning whether this theory is true. Intellectuals who propose this theory are known as psychological egoists. Psychological egoism argues that we are driven to pursue our own self interests by nature and we cannot do otherwise (Chaffee 443). Many opponents of psychological egoism believe in psychological altruism which states that sometimes humans can have truly altruistic motives, altruism being the selfless principle of the concern of the welfare for others (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
After exploration through the thought and philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche it can be mesmerizing to grasp a firm hold onto viewpoints in contrast with many philosophers. Much of the content throughout his works can be perceived various ways and he even suggests that one does not have to accept it. The idea of perspectivism is developed by him throughout his works. This philosophical viewpoint makes the statement that all ideas are from different perspectives and that there is no definite truth, but not all perspectives are equal or true. He championed argument and felt that created agon, contest, which motivates and challenges people in the Genealogy of Morality (174-81).
Man has no one telling him what to do, there may be laws but they are man made and because they man made no one has true control over man. Existentialism is a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining his or her own development through acts of the will. To Sartre, saying that som... ... middle of paper ... ...vious objections. In this paper argued that man creates their own essence through their choices and that our values and choices are important because they allow man to be free and create their own existence. I did this first by explaining Jean-Paul Sartre’s quote, then by thoroughly stating Sartre’s theory, and then by opposing objections raised against Sartre’s theory.
Though subjective, there are core ideals that unite the beliefs of all philosophy, such as the idea of the self. Philosophers arise not to answer questions, but to question the questions in order to find enlightenment. The search for self is a difficult journey as it is a heavily debated subject matter with no definite clarification. Ultimately, the most important question of philosophy is: “What makes you, you?” The studies of self relates to the fundamental assumptions of human nature. Every discussion about “life or death [in philosophy] talks about the physical body and the human consciousness” with relations to rationality or irrationality” (Velasquez, 51).
He further elaborates by saying, “ The only obligation, which I have the right to assume is to do at anytime what I think is right”(Thoreau 387). Thoreau places critical thinking and principle over blindly following what is dictated by the government. By taking control of their will, men make it impossible to be governed unjustly and can bring about a more just society. This reliance on themselves to know what is righ... ... middle of paper ... ...action. These are the men who prevent society from progressing because they refuse to take a stand.
He still maintains the philosophy, giving him hope, yet doesn't fully believe it. In other words, he has the head knowledge, but hasn't taken it fully to heart knowledge yet. The application of philosophical reasoning, however, seems to be Voltaire's main point. Philosophy is no good without application, which contrasts the ideal of the character Pangloss. Pangloss' antithesis is a man named Martin, who is an essential pessimist and represents the opposite side of Voltaire's argument.
Emerson now focuses his attention on the importance of an individual’s resisting pressure to conform to external norms, including those of society, which conspires to defeat self-reliance in its members. The process of so-called “maturing” becomes a process of conforming that Emerson challenges. In the paragraph that begins with the characteristic aphorism “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist,” he asserts a radical, even extreme, position on the matter.
Man is nothing other than his own project. Sartre writes that man is the one who gives himself purpose and creates himself. Sartre writes “Man is not only that which he conceives himself to be, but that which he wills himself to be, and since he conceives of himself only after he exists, just as he wills himself to be after being thrown into existence, man is nothing other than what he makes of himself.” (Sartre 22). Sartre is saying that man is not what he considers himself to be, he is what he does, and he is constantly changing. Man cannot be what he regards himself as unless what he considers himself to be is what he has already completed or what he is currently doing.
Descartes and Nagel are philosophers who examined this problem with the intent to learn the true relationship between the mind and body. Although they share this in common, their philosophies differ greatly. Through the examination of each philosopher=s position, this paper will attempt to show how Descartes and Nagel used two different theories, dualism and the dual aspect theory, to satisfy the mind-body problem and which argument is the stronger of the two. Descartes argued in his AMeditations on First Philosophy@ that the mind is a thinking, non-divisible, non-extended thing and that the body is a non-thinking, divisible, extended thing. In his sixth Meditation, Descartes states A...I have a body with which I am very closely united, nevert... ... middle of paper ... ...ing the relationship between the mind and the mental states than Descartes.
By placing heavy emphasis on taking the contradictions and tensions he saw not only in philosophy, but also in society as a whole Hegel attempted to interpret them as part of a comprehensive unity he described as “absolute knowledge”. He believed everything was interrelated and that attempting to separate it from reality into various parts was wrong. However, Hegel’s triadic dialect is perhaps too simplistic. From Hegel’s point of view, an analysis of a apparently simple idea will reveal it’s underlying contradictions, and these contradictions will lead to the dissolution of the idea in it’s simplest form. Then these contradictions will lead to a development into a higher-level and more complex form of that same idea.