Abstract
This chapter focuses on an issue that has vexed philosophers since Plato: is genuinely altruistic behavior possible, or is all human behavior ultimately selfish? It begins in Section 2 with a brief sketch of a cluster of assumptions about human desires, beliefs, actions, and motivation that are widely shared by historical and contemporary authors on both sides in the debate. Section 3 considers links between evolutionary theory and the egoism/altruism debate. There is a substantial literature employing evolutionary theory on each side of the issue. However, it is argued that neither camp has offered a convincing case. Section 4 looks at recent research on altruism in social psychology. While this work has not resolved the debate, it has made illuminating progress-progress that philosophers interested in the question cannot afford to ignore.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Collected Papers, Volume 2 |
Subtitle of host publication | Knowledge, Rationality, and Morality, 1978-2010 |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780199949823 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780199733477 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 20 2012 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Arts and Humanities
Keywords
- Altruistic behavior
- Egoism
- Evolutionary theory
- Human behavior
- Social psychology