A complementary fallacy is that which denies
the epithet "unselfish" to a man who enjoys helping others. Who has
not heard the cynical remark, "There's nothing unselfish about
So-and-So's benevolence that is his enjoyment in life!" Such a comment
ignores the fact that the goal of moral progress lies precisely at
the point where we shall all enjoy doing what it is our duty to do.
Altruistic impulses are our own impulses, as well as egoistic ones;
the distinction between them lies not in the pleasure they may give
to their possessor, or the sacrifice they may demand, but in the
objective results they tend to attain. Happy is the man whose DELIGHT
is in the law of the Lord! Unselfish action is, in the broader sense,
all action that is not selfish; in the narrower and positive sense,
it is all action that tends to the welfare of others at the expense
of the narrower interests of the individual.
Are altruistic impulses always right?
It would be an easy solution for our problems if we could say, "In
every case follow the altruistic impulse." But this simplification
is impossible; the ideal of service is not such an Open Sesame to our
duty. And this for several reasons:
(1) There are frequently clashes between altruistic impulses. In fact,
almost all moral errors have some unselfish impulse on their side which
helps to justify them in the eyes of the sinner and his friends. The
politician who gets the best jobs for his supporters, the legislator
who puts through a special statute to favor his constituents, the jingo
who helps push his country into war for its "honor" or "glory"-these
and a host of other wrongdoers are conscious of a genuine altruistic
glow.
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