Essay Sample on Plato and Rachel's Concepts of the Origins and Value of Selfishness

Introduction

The standpoint of ethics resonates around the quest for happiness and satisfaction among humans. Both Plato and Rachel focused on the aspects that humans employ to attain happiness which is the highest aim of moral thought, acceptable conduct, and virtues. The virtues and moral thought require important behaviors in achieving them. According to Rachel, moral ideas are related to ethical and psychological egoism, and they are considered to be the two standpoints which are more associated with how people think (psychological egoism) and how they ought to think (ethical egoism) (Thomas n. p.). Origins and value of selfishness have several appeals concerning Plato and Rachel because Rachel focuses on ethical and psychological egoism while Plato's concepts are affiliated to the human quest for happiness and the possible dispositions needed to attain it.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Plato's argument proves that the search for human good and virtue tends to go beyond the realm that human beings ought to face. On the other hand, Rachel's concept of selfishness focuses on the need for people to enhance psychological and ethical reason. According to Rachel, selfishness occurs when people focus on racial relations (Thomas n. p.). The transcend principles of goodness vary thus causing differences concerning how people value giving. Plato outlines that the desire for self-completion makes humans focus on becoming more selfish until their wishes are attained or accomplished. According to Plato, the constant need for self-improvement and restoration which is the quest for earthly immortality makes people selfish. Also, the pursuit of self-externalization is the factor that promotes selfishness among humans (Thomas n. p.). Plato's philosophy also outlines that the quest for common life standards subordinate individuals' wishes concerning aims to common good thus the origin of selfishness is concerned with the fact that one ought to attain self-fulfillment. Therefore, people may seek to become selfish until they are achieving fulfillment. In that perspective, greed sets in and becomes intense when acceptance that an individual has attained accomplishment does not set in due to the challenges if life. Communal life demands scare people from sharing since continual sharing might make an individual to lag behind their anticipated growth and achievement in life.

According to Rachel's psychological egoism, humans are all selfish and that they only do their things to achieve their benefit. Also, according to the ethical egoism portrayed by Rachel, humans ought to act in their ways, and they act in the manner that represents that they seek to satisfy their self-interests without considering the effect that their actions subjects to others. The origin of selfishness lies in the fact that humans seek to fulfill their interests before they consider helping other people. Self-centered aspects of humans are the causative factors that make an individual to uphold selfishness. Contrarily, Plato contends that the mortal cycle is the basis for Plato's concepts and origin of human selfishness. The needy nature of human beings contends the fact that the origin of selfishness relies on the fact that humans will always become needy thus problems cannot be solved once. People always seek to work towards collecting enough deliverables that can enable them to become packed with all they want to avoid becoming beggars (Hutchinson,n. p.). Therefore, Plato majorly contends that the needy nature of human beings in conjunction with the fact that human problems cannot be dealt with at once made the basis for humans to be selfish.

Rachel's philosophical ideas concerning the origin of selfishness are majorly concerned with the human differences concerning race. The human race is more concerned with doing things for their own, their close associates and the family members. On the other hand, Plato outlines that excessive love for an individual is the cause of crimes in the world today which is similar to the fact that excessive love for an individual makes them portray selfish acts (Thomas n. p.). Also, Plato contends that anyone who aspires greatness has to allude to the need for justice thus in most cases humans will always consider the fact that selfishness promotes responsibility which results to justice in the society. Also, Plato's philosophical concepts align with the fact that the vice of selfishness makes stupid people to be convinced with their shrewdness and ignorance that they know everything in life (Hutchinson,n. p.).

Most people portray ignorance when they realize that they are the point of focus when it comes to helping people. For that matter, Plato outlines that ignorance is also considered to be the cause of selfishness among people (Hutchinson,n. p.). When humans pay little attention to the call for help in the society, their ignorance translates into selfishness. It is perhaps justifiable that many selfish people are always ignorant an aspect that makes people express extreme love for themselves: every human steer their cleat and extreme love for themselves. In most cases, humans seek not to be caught up in the shame of being unable to help an individual at an absolute time of need. Thus they become selfish as a way of accumulating enough wealth to be able to help the needy in the future.

People uphold ethical egoism which is a virtue that makes people do goodness in all that they obtain. Rachel also outlines that narcissistic behavior is the cause of selfishness amid the fact that people resort to a lifestyle that guarantees them a better life in future. The future makes people narcissistic in the plight of ethical egoism (Thomas n. p.). Carelessness and thoughtlessness make people portray selfishness with the mindset to succeed. Even though the virtue of self-worth is important, many people describe being associated with the aspect of altruism and the emotions towards others. Rachel also outlines that rationality does not allow people to sacrifice themselves for others thus the origin of selfishness lies in the fact that people seek to fulfill their aspirations.

The fact that people try to fulfill their needs first before seeking to satisfy another person's requirements is the aspect that made selfishness to be in existence. The virtue of selfishness lies in the fact that some instances require an individual break loose their stand and focus on helping people to be free from life-threatening situations (Thomas n. p.). Even though Rachel outlines that people ought to be concerned with self-centeredness and self-directed opinions, there is a great chance that people ought to consider concerning psychological reasoning.

Psychological egoism which focuses on the aspect of race portrays that racial differences form the basis of selfishness (Hutchinson,n. p.). People are usually concerned with helping the people whom they have very close relationships. Therefore, the philosophical concept of Rachel portrays that people show kindness to the people they are closely related thus selfishness lies in the grounds of racial differences.

Conclusion

In summation, origins and value of selfishness have different interests concerning Plato and Rachel considering the way that Rachel centers around moral and mental vanity while Plato's ideas are associated to the human mission for bliss and the conceivable miens expected to achieve it. It has been found out that Plato's contention demonstrates that the quest for human greatness and excellence will, in general, show the domain that people should confront. Contrarily, Rachel's idea of self-centeredness centers around the requirement for individuals to improve mental and moral reason. As indicated by Rachel, self-centeredness happens when individuals focus on racial relations. The rise above standards of goodness change along these lines causing contrasts concerning how individuals' value giving. Plato shows that the craving for self-fruition makes people concentrate on ending up more selfishness until the point that their needs are achieved. As indicated by Plato, the consistent requirement for personal development and reclamation which is the mission for heartily permanent status makes individuals to end up selfishness. Likewise, the journey for self-externalization is the factor that advances self-interest among people. It is maybe reasonable that many selfish people are constantly insensible a viewpoint that makes individuals express outrageous love for themselves. Each human steers their projection and extraordinary love for themselves thus they look not to be caught up for lost time in the disgrace of being not able to the desperate people. Therefore, people ought to wind up egotistical as a method for collecting enough riches to have the capacity to help the poor in the future.

Works Cited

Hutchinson, Cooper. "Plato's Ethics: An Overview (Stanford Encyclopedia Of Philosophy)." Plato.Stanford. Edu, 2017, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-ethics/#NeeNatHumBei. Accessed 29 Nov 2018.

Thomas, Kia. "Rachels Psychological and Ethical Egoism | PH115: Introduction To Ethics". Scholar blog.Emory. Edu, 2018, https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/millsonph115/2014/09/15/rachels-psychological-and-ethical-egoism/. Accessed 29 Nov 2018.