Self-Interest and Fear Philosophers and Psychologists Have

Self-Interest and Fear Philosophers and psychologists have argued endlessly about the forces that motivate a person most since the earliest time of recorded history. There are many theories about this issue, but one assertion that has always been made is that "there are essentially two forces that motivate people: self-interest and fear." Personally, I agree with this opinion as I believe that being motivated by self-interest and fear is part of human nature. In this essay I will explain why I believe so.

While agreeing with the opinion, I would like to say that I do not believe that self-interest and fear ought to be the forces that should guide our actions. It is my observation and experience that this is how people behave and it is simply a fact of life. Whether or not it is the best or most ethical way of behavior is an arguable point.

Hence, I am more in agreement with the theory of psychological egoism, which suggests that human beings, by nature, are motivated only by self-interest rather than the ethical egoism theory that individuals should always act in their own best interest. The most obvious argument against this theory is that in everyday life, people often help others and/or perform acts of kindness.

I do not deny that people do act in this way, but my counter argument is that if we really dig deeper into the reason behind a seemingly thoroughly altruistic act, we will find that it is actually motivated by some selfish desire. For example, if someone helps a friend out of trouble he/she is doing so to feel happy. Achieving happiness is 'self-interest' too. Self-interest may also include such hidden motives as desire for reward, and avoidance of guilt.

A person may not even be aware while performing a seemingly unselfish act that he/she is actually doing so for a hidden selfish motive. The reason why the two forces -- self-interest and fear -motivate people can also be explained in a different way. In the words of Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), one of the greatest philosophers and the 'father' of Utilitarianism: "Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure.

They govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think." In other words, all human actions are motivated by a desire to move towards pleasure and to move away from pain. This moving toward pleasure covers all our actions based on self-interest, whether direct or indirect and moving away from pain constitutes all our actions taken to avoid fear.

Most of us must have observed in our everyday lives that self-interest and fear are part of human nature and these two powerful forces motivate most of our actions. For example, all of us have read about and have been taught to avoid food containing excessive amount of fats, and cholesterol. Yet we are repeatedly tempted to reach for the extra helping of the delicious dessert or ice cream. The reason is, of course, that the delicious dessert gives us instant pleasure.

However, what would prevent us from eating the pleasure-giving dish is the "fear" of having a massive heart attack. In the same way, self-interest is something that gives us pleasure and would always be the number one motivating factor in all our actions. A valid ethical concern to actions based on self-interest alone is that if everyone is engaged in pursuing his own well being he would do so at the expense of others.

While this may happen in certain circumstances, it is not always so since life is not just a zero sum game. It is not necessary that if someone is pursuing his own well-being, he or she is doing so at the expense of others. Several actions that could be taken by a person in pursuit of self-interest and harm others have been 'outlawed' by most societies.

For example, if it is in the interest of a person to get something or gain pleasure by stealing from others, he cannot do so because 'stealing' is considered to be a crime, and has been made punishable by the society. Even otherwise, it is not always in our best self-interest to carry out such acts as stealing, murdering, and deceiving because such actions could also be taken by others against us, which would ultimately result in more pain than pleasure.

It is, thus, the fear of retaliation that prevents us from harming others while pursuing our self-interest rather than any altruistic consideration. Hence the system of self-interest and fear works as a kind of 'natural' check-and-balance to keep things in control. Pursuit of self-interest and avoidance of fear has been seen as part of human nature. We must reflect on why this is so, since nature does not act without reason. Self-interest is often associated with a negative and undesirable human trait that is either to be denied or suppressed.

It must be realized that self-interest is not just a.