Assignment task:
Topic Introduction: Even if most people-most of the time-do what they do merely because they think it will help themselves, it seems possible that at least some people-at least some of the time-do what they do simply because they think it will help someone else. Philosophers call the latter behavior altruistic: helping another person primarily out of concern for their (not your) interests or welfare. But if psychological egoism is true, then altruistic behavior is actually impossible-it never happens, not even just sometimes with some people! So which is more plausible: are some people sometimes altruistic, or are we all just doing whatever we think helps us?
Discussion Prompt: For your original post, briefly explain psychological egoism (include in your explanation why Feinberg distinguishes psychological egoism (PE) from a different theory known as ethical egoism). Then offer an argument for PE (this could be one from the reading or one you come up with on your own). Finally, tell us what you think about the argument you offered. Does it convince you that PE is true? Or does it seem incomplete or mistaken in some way, leaving altruism as genuinely possible, even if not common (or maybe it's more common than people appreciate!). For your reply posts: you can use your replies to help defend another student against a challenge or question raised by another student, or you could challenge or raise your own question towards another student's approach to PE and altruism, or you could simply play the advocate of one or the other position.