Selfishness And Self-Interest

Accordingly, it’s the primary goal of this brief article to differentiate the concepts of self-interest and selfishness: to praise the concept of self-interest as the catalyst of moral action, therefore worthy of admiration; and thus to admonish selfishness as the instigator which often leads to immorality and inconsiderate hedonism. Consequently, containing these two sentiments from one another in order to redeem the term self-interest and to specify its appropriateness becomes an intellectual
Checks are the conscious examination of the potential effects of acting upon desires. To understand checks and their relationship to self-interest, as Adam Smith may have suggested, one would have to examine their intent as if they were an “impartial spectator”. Would this spectator observe these actions with approbation or disapprobation? Would these actions do ill to other parties?This sort of contemplation prior to choosing the means to act offers the individual the opportunity to reflect upon the possible ramifications of the known (and situationally contrived) alternative means to act; to consider how these means of action may affect others that may become involved, their relationship to the parties involved, and how disinterested parties may view these actions (and thus the person
Nevertheless, understanding how approbation is a useful check on selfishness, in additional to being the potential motivator for selfishness, becomes teleologically paramount. Furthermore, approbation, like pharmaceuticals, can be beneficial in certain doses, or toxic in unregulated quantities. But, unlike pharmaceuticals, approbation isn’t an isolated and prescribed substance for the body to metabolize in order to receive its formulated benefit. Rather, approbation is an abstract, arbitrary, and complex sentiment; an approval upon observing preferred-actions based on the observer’s subjective moral and/or value propensities. Seeking the approbation of others is instinctual and in receiving the approbation of others an individual writes a mental catalogue to reference for future action. Accordingly, a desire to discriminate acting in anticipation for approbation may restrict a person’s actions to lust for approbation and, in solely seeking approbation, this lust for approbation becomes as selfish as if they were acting inconsiderate to begin with. So, while forecasting approbation is a useful tool that may be utilized in checking selfishness, exclusively seeking approbation presents a conflict to self-interest, and the reality of this conflict stresses the delicate nature of approbation-seeking’s role in self-interest. Additionally, approbation is more appropriately an unintended consequence of other considerations when reflecting upon the