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"At the end of the day, humans act in their best interest". This point requires a demonstration. In fact, many studies conducted by experimental psychologists

"At the end of the day, humans act in their best interest". This point requires a demonstration. In fact, many studies conducted by experimental psychologists have proven this could not be taken for granted. People have many reasons not to act only in their best interest ; altruism is only one of them and much more common that expected. That idea of self-interest is entrenched into the core of the field of micro-economics. From there, it has conquered the minds as a self-evident axiom. It's also a cultural bias: it's widely accepted as true by most Americans - but it is so much not in many other countries.

Llamamoe 5y ago
Altruism is an interesting phenomenon, but I'd argue that it's a case of adhering to norms of what is considered good, to gain both admiration/gratitude from others, and the benefit of feeling aligned with the society that exhibits them - and whose adherence to the same norms might well one day benefit the individual as well. In short, altruism is a social contract - by widespread adherence to its norms, people form a very easy to understand from both a sociological and evolutionary perspective safety net, and by helping others, they gain gratitude and social credit(though arguably, that is a vestigial mechanism in the modern, disconnected world) I think the easiest demonstration of altruism not being pure goodwill is invisible disability, or really - anything that's not socially acceptable to struggle with. Humans are extremely quick to judge homeless, heavily depressed, or ADHD people very, very harshly, shaming them for their struggles - trying to force them to adhere to norms of what is considered good - and achieving what amounts to abuse that you'd very quickly realize 90% of people are capable of without batting an eye, rationalizing humiliating you to a point they consider themselves to be agents of kindness in delivering it to you.

Llamamoe 5y ago

Altruism is an interesting phenomenon, but I'd argue that it's a case of adhering to norms of what is considered good, to gain both admiration/gratitude from others, and the benefit of feeling aligned with the society that exhibits them - and whose adherence to the same norms might well one day benefit the individual as well. In short, altruism is a social contract - by widespread adherence to its norms, people form a very easy to understand from both a sociological and evolutionary perspective safety net, and by helping others, they gain gratitude and social credit(though arguably, that is a vestigial mechanism in the modern, disconnected world) I think the easiest demonstration of altruism not being pure goodwill is invisible disability, or really - anything that's not socially acceptable to struggle with. Humans are extremely quick to judge homeless, heavily depressed, or ADHD people very, very harshly, shaming them for their struggles - trying to force them to adhere to norms of what is considered good - and achieving what amounts to abuse that you'd very quickly realize 90% of people are capable of without batting an eye, rationalizing humiliating you to a point they consider themselves to be agents of kindness in delivering it to you.