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Altruism is selfless
Literary analysis essay
Literary analysis of two kinds
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There are many things that are important in this world. Some people value the material things in life, while others value the relationships. Altruism is the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others. Howard Roark in Ayn Rand’s “Fountainhead” praises selfishness and denounces altruism. He argues for selfishness and egoism and against the conventional morality of altruism. I believe that Howard Roark is correct when he denounces altruism.
Howard Roark was correct when he denounced altruism because, he was standing up for what he believed in. All you have is what you believe in. Nothing else can ever be reassured. Your beliefs are the only permanent things in this world that you can count on. Without your own beliefs, you would just be another mindless replica of what people want you to be. Beliefs are what make you unique and what gives you character. When Howard Roark chooses himself over altruism, he is showing what he truly feels inside. He is standing up for what he truly believes in, and when you do that, you can never be wrong.
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By denouncing altruism, Howard Roark was correct because he was doing what he thought was right at the time.
When you are given a tough decision in life, it can be hard to make a right decision. At the time, there may be no indicators that one choice is better than the others. This is when you have to trust yourself that you will make the right decision. At the time, Howard Roark knew that he was making the right decision. He felt that this was the right decision to make so he he made it. He can’t be wrong because he felt that he was right. As long as you trust yourself with the decisions you make, then they will always be
right. Howard Roark was correct when he denounced altruism because, he would feel guilty if he didn’t. If Howard made the choice knowing that is was the wrong one, he would have to live with that guilt for the rest of his life. Instead, he went with what he believed. He made a choice and stood by it. He would rather be prosecuted than live a life feeling guilty. Guilt can tear a man apart. Guilt is sometimes worse than the punishment will ever be. Guilt follows you around until you die. That is why Howard couldn't lie about what he thought was right. He made his choice of what he knew was right so that he wouldn't feel guilty. Many people value different things in life. Howard Roark values himself and what he believes in. He denounces altruism and argued for selfishness and egoism. Howard was right when he did this. Howard was right when he denounced altruism because he was standing up for what he believed in. He was also correct because he was doing what he thought was right at the time. With the information he was given, he made the choice that he thought was right. Also, he was right because he would have felt guilty if he didn’t denounce altruism. He knew what he believed was right so he stood by it.
Why do you think the author chose the title he/she did? Analyze its deeper meaning. If it is an obvious title, rename it something more symbolic and explain your rationale.
Children are taught the value in sharing, in ensuring that everyone is extended the same opportunities and the same kindness. Ayn Rand, however, had a different perspective. Her philosophy, called objectivism, favors morality that is based upon one’s own desires. Clearly, Rand by no means encouraged the citizens of every city to run amok in the streets, doing whatever they pleased, but she did believe that any man is responsible for himself and himself alone. Altruism is defined by a duty to others, and by the value in sacrificing oneself for the greater common good. Because this concept allows all of society an equal fighting chance, it is widely supported and well loved. Altruism is the go-to template for standup moral character: selfishness must never be practiced, think only of others, build your life around the lives around you, and so on. Objectivism runs in stark contrast to this, encouraging individuals to define their goals and adjust their behavior accordingly. Objectivism’s primary claim is that selfishness is, indeed, a positive thing, and that it brings about considerable success in
The society in Anthem is a very collectivist society, thus a single individual’s health and survival might not be as important as with an objectivist “society”. However, the society in Anthem does address health and survival in a collectivist way. By having the Old Ones not work and “the State take care of them” this society deals with one of the biggest health problems, old people (7). This society takes a socialist method of health care and the State provides for all of the Old Ones which shows how they are meeting the needs of health and survival. The society takes a different approach on survival. Because of the strong collectivism, individual lives do not matter and “there are no men but only the great WE”, as long as the WE survives any one person can die and the society will not care (3). Anthem’s society takes survival to mean the survival of the whole not the individual. This shows that society is not needed for the individual’s survival, as not only does this society provide little individual health care, Equality 7-2521 in the later part of Anthem is easily able to
The government’s authority over several aspects of society displays its corruption and causes more people to become conformists who lack egotism in Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem. The government chooses the occupations of all of the citizens. It is the Council of Vocation’s position to decide everyone’s job, thus suppressing the right of the people to freedom of choice. The teachers, who had been appointed by the Councils, inform the students to “Dare not choose in your minds the work you would like to do when you leave the Home of the Students. You shall do that which the Council of Vocations shall prescribe for you. For the Council of Vocations knows in its great wisdom where you are needed by your brother men, better than you can know it in your unworthy little
King Mufasa showed true altruism when he rescued Simba from the stampede. Altruism is an unselfish desire to help someone else without regard to personal welfare or safety. Some psychologists argue that in reality, altruistic acts are in fact motivated by self-interests such as to present one's self as powerful, caring,
Throughout life, you are faced with everyday conflicts; getting cut from soccer tryouts, not receiving the grade you wanted on a biology test, arguing with your siblings, etc. Equality 7-2521 was faced with conflicts as well; however, to a more extreme level. Several external conflicts throughout Ayn Rand’s Anthem, shape Equality’s character. The controlling factors of Equality’s society, that lead to several conflicts, prevented him from sharing his intelligence, choosing and communicating with others and venturing outside the city walls.
The idea that a person can be purely good and altruistic does not exist due to society’s acceptance and embrace of the selfishness and greed of human beings. People these days are some of the most selfish beings to ever exist but they are not ashamed of their actions because of how the world around them welcomes their self-centered nature with open arms. Selfishness comes is many ways, shapes, and forms. Many businesses need to utilize the greed of mankind in order to make money and prosper; “Greed-for lack of a better word-is good. Greed is right. Greed works” (Wall Street). Even politicians use their greed to run campaigns for themselves in order to win the hearts of Americans. As well as fulfill their ultimate selfish goal to be the man
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, altruism is defined as an “unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others”. In simpler terms, altruism is unconditional kindness. Altruistic behavior has been a controversial and obscure subject among biologists, including Charles Darwin, who was one of the first to try and explain this phenomenon. “To explain the evolution of altruism, Charles Darwin suggested that natural selection could act on groups as well as individuals--an idea known as group selection”(Schwartz). Group selection, which was based off of Darwin’s theory of natural selection, was the theory that an individual organism would sacrifice itself (seemingly selflessly) for the good of the entire population, hoping that its actions would save the group from annihilation and therefore allow for the continuation of the group’s gene flow into its descendants. Darwin explained that groups with members “ready to give aid to each other and sacrifice themselves for the com...
By definition, altruism is "the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others". Through vigorous analysis, however, I have established it to be a complex ideology whose followers can be divided into three categories: slaves, abusers, and advocates. The slave abides by the ideals of 'pure' altruism. In other words, he does not act according to personal need or desire; humanity is all that matters. This is altruism in its purest form and is the branch of altruism which envelopes Catherine and allows her to feel a sense of purpose. Yet, much more common is the abuser of altruism. He is the altruist who ascertains and seizes any opportunity for personal gain by abusing the ostensibly philanthropic ideology. As ironic as this seems, it is common practice for one to proffer with the intention of receiving something in return. Peter Keating demonstrates how such an abuser manipulates altruism into a golden ladder by which he may reach success. Reigning over even the most conniving abuser is the omnipot...
Altruism regards the individual life as something one may be required to sacrifice for the sake of
For someone who believes in psychological egoism, i t is difficult to find an action that would be acknowledged as purely altruistic. In practice, altruism, is the performance of duties to others with no view to any sort of personal...
First of all, there is a term closely followed with self-interest as we mention, “collective interest” or “altruism”, which means that, “Looking out for other’s welfare.” (Hospers, 39) Analogously, it is totally opposite from the idea of self-interest. Common sense always recognizes that the collective is more important than the individual. A country, which is formed by plenty people, so is more significant than a person. Collective interest has bigger influence than self-interest to the society, as the founder of utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham stated, “Personal pleasure and pain are dependent on the general happiness and prosperity of the whole community.” (Fagothey, 63) and “The greatest happiness of the greatest number.” (Fagothey, 63) As if people only are allowed to serve the community rather individual. However, I strongly disagree with it and believe they forget a truth that the whole unity consists of many small parts.
According to the article, Altruism and helping behavior, it is common for people to help others. Altruism is defined as “the desire to help another person even if it doesn’t benefit the helper” (Altruism and Helping Behavior. Print.). Helping behavior is “any act that is intended to benefit another person”
Selfishness is not a trait most people long to acquire. When someone tends to put themselves before others in order to please themselves. They believe that the happiness of themselves is more important than other people being happy. This trait is not something that people like to see in others because they assume they are different than society and do not want to get involved with someone who thinks too highly of themselves. Roark is able to aspire in the career of his choice because of the selfishness and ipseity he emulates while portraying Ayn Rand.
Before a case can be made for the causes of altruism, altruism itself must first be defined. Most leading psychologists agree that the definition of altruism is “a motivational state with the ultimate goal of increasing another’s welfare.” (Batson, 1981). The only way for a person to be truly altruistic is if their intent is to help the community before themselves. However, the only thing humans can see is the actions themselves, and so, selfish intent may seem the same as altruistic intent. Alas, the only way that altruism can be judged is if the intent is obvious. Through that, we must conclude that only certain intents can be defined as altruistic, and as intent stemming from nature benefits the group while other intent benefits yourself, only actions caused by nature are truly altruistic.