Altruism or Egoism?

[Rayaan]

Psychologically, I think that everyone is more egoistic than altruistic, although it varies person to person and sometimes it depends on the situation.

Some people are just better at hiding their egoism than others.


Edit: Oh, wait. I got mixed up with psychological egoism and ethical egoism.

Ethical egoism is the normative ethical position that moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-interest. It differs from psychological egoism, which claims that people can only act in their self-interest. Ethical egoism also differs from rational egoism, which holds that it is rational to act in one's self-interest.

Ethical egoism contrasts with ethical altruism, which holds that moral agents have an obligation to help others. Egoism and altruism both contrast with ethical utilitarianism, which holds that a moral agent should treat one's self (also known as the subject) with no higher regard than one has for others (as egoism does, by elevating self-interests and "the self" to a status not granted to others). But it also holds that one should not (as altruism does) sacrifice one's own interests to help others' interests, so long as one's own interests (i.e. one's own desires or well-being) are substantially equivalent to the others' interests and well-being.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_egoism


I think I'm still an egoist, though.