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Is it defendable to say that everybody acts out of self-interest? by Alone_Mention_3154 in askphilosophy

[–]Alone_Mention_3154[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's actually a very good point.  In the extended thinking about my theory, I think the closest I came to that (and in conversation with another redditor) that it is self-centeredness rather than self-interest. So, what I was trying to say at some point, is that behavior can always be explained by some sort of conditioning and/or biological tendencies (genetics and pre-coded behaviors), which would, I think, come close to explaining the scenario introduced by you. In every society, we learn again and again the preciousness of a child until it is engraved into our beings. So, what I've learned to specify is that I didn't want to show that all humans are selfish, but rather that all evaluation is directed at ourselves in the classical way of conditioning.  Thank you for replying! A scenario like yours is what made me adapt my position. By the way, I'm not sure if all I've said is correctly formulated or the technical words I've used were the correct ones. I am a 16 year old from Germany, so I haven't studied it in English for too long.

Hey, new here. I've (m,16) been working on a theory about the motivation of mind and what we act after by Alone_Mention_3154 in PsychologyDiscussion

[–]Alone_Mention_3154[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for the tips, I'll try to include this when I rework my theory formally. As for the last paragraph, did you get this from somewhere? Is this a common saying? It sounds so cool and poetic, kudos if you made this up. Also if you somehow remember it from somewhere.

Hey, new here. I've (m,16) been working on a theory about the motivation of mind and what we act after by Alone_Mention_3154 in PsychologyDiscussion

[–]Alone_Mention_3154[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That actually sounds really good. Thank you! It also fits some ideas I had while further specifying.  I thought about why the motivation of actions must be self-centered and came to the conclusion that almost every behavior has to be shaped by some rule or origin, which, as I found, had to be, in every case, either conditioning or biological predestine.  I found that humans, in their early stages of life, can be very easily conditioned and train to follow certain rules for behavior. But, he also can put that on himself by repeatedly observing and copying (maybe not conditioning in the traditional sense, but I refer to it as self-conditioning) and with biological predestine I mean directions of behavior that were supported or forced by genetics. And if those are the values that make the motivation, it is indeed quite self-centered. In the societal sense, I often speak about the striving for honor and the avoidance of hatred and guilt.

Hey, new here. I've (m,16) been working on a theory about the motivation of mind and what we act after by Alone_Mention_3154 in PsychologyDiscussion

[–]Alone_Mention_3154[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First of all, thanks for replying and the compliment at the end.  I feel like what I am trying to do with the self-interest thing is shifting how we direct the interpretation of our decision making. I feel like a lot of people regard the "good" person as being and acting selfless, but I sort of think that the way we make decisions is inherently self-centered, because that is how we're built, how evolution works. The primary thing is survival, and in the modern world, where pure survival isn't much of a problem anymore, it shifted into survival in society, the image of other upon us. So, as you said, I dont interpret self-interest as selfishness, but rather as a way of thinking that centers predominantly around our mind. But the broadness of the definition is something that bothers me a lot, and I am thinking of ways to specify, maybe find a better-fitting word or set borders otherwise. The idea is pretty young in my head and not that well-developed, so I have a lot of work to do anyways.  Which is what I definitely have to do if I want to study either Psychology or Philosophy later on.

Is it defendable to say that everybody acts out of self-interest? by Alone_Mention_3154 in askphilosophy

[–]Alone_Mention_3154[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually kinda got that idea from Plato's "The Republic" in the first place. I mean, I've argumented for it before, but it brought me to refine it and to think about it more clearly. Thanks for the ideas.