Balancing Objectivism and Altruism

Hello Friends I hope this post finds you in a happy place in your life. This blog post is a continuation of my personal philosophy on life and you can find my introduction to this topic in my first post here. If you haven’t read it yet please do so. I believe it will give a better understanding and appreciation of what you are reading today.

 my favorite baseball team [1]

After my first blog @intothewild introduced me to Ayn Rand, a Russian-American writer and philosopher from the mid 20th century. She developed the philosophical system of Objectivism. Ayn Rand summoned up her philosophy in this way:

"My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his >life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.”
— Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged [2]

Disclaimer: I am far from an expert on Objectivism. I intend to only discuss how my understanding of her philosophy correlates with my experiences and personal beliefs.

Wikipedia (I know you might judge me for using it as a source) describes Objectivism’s core beliefs as reality existing independently of consciousness and that living beings relate to reality through their senses. Everyone can obtain objective knowledge with their preceptive senses through concept formation and inductive logic. Furthermore one’s proper moral purpose in life is the pursuit of personal happiness/self-interest and the only society that is supports this morality is one that respects individual rights consistent with the laissez-faire capitalism. Additionally works of art are individuals tool for sharing their metaphysical ideas in a physical form for others to appreciate and absorb and therefor the rights for individuals to produce works art must be protected. [3]

here is a diagram explaining Objectivism [4]

This philosophical movement resinates deeply with my own understanding of my view of the world. It correlates directly with my first goal in life described in my first blog post: Always do what is best for me.

Altruism (also on wikipedia, again you can judge me if you want) is explained as an ethical doctrine which measures the morality of an individual’s actions based on the action’s effects on others disregarding the consequences for the individual. Here are two quotes that give appropriate descriptions of Altruism:

"An action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone except the >agent.”
-James Fiesser [5]
[The] social point of view cannot tolerate the notion of rights, for such notion rests on individualism. We are born under a >load of obligations of every kind, to our predecessors, to our successors, to our contemporaries. After our birth these >obligations increase or accumulate, for it is some time before we can return any service.... This ["to live for others"], the >definitive formula of human morality, gives a direct sanction exclusively to our instincts of benevolence, the common >source of happiness and duty. [Man must serve] Humanity, whose we are entirely.”
-Auguste Comte, Catéchisme Positiviste [6]

      I love this visual description for Altruism  [7]

Just like objectivism this philosophy resinates with my heart on an extremely personal level. I believe altruism best describes the feeling behind my second life goal: Always do whats best for everyone else.

In my experience most people relate to both of these philosophies but generally one dominates the other. In my experience finding an equal balance of these perceptions is crucial for achieving sustainable joy in my life. Letting one of these methods dominate my life in the past has lead to pain and suffering for myself and those around me. For example when I am dominated by objectivism my ego enables me to cause hurt in others without being aware of the consequences. Whereas when I am dominated by altruism I tend to help others without seeing the damage I am doing to myself by not caring for my own needs. Having an imbalance between these two typically manifests in high levels of anxiety or depression. Either I feel a need to control myself and others to bend them to my world view or I am too manipulatable by others and feel I have no control of my own desires and destiny. Both can be devastating to my psyche and wellbeing.

    I love making adjustments to recognized quotes. [8]
    You cant teach any dog new tricks unless (s)he is  open to learning

In my recent past I have needed therapy and medication to put these to outlooks in balance. Now I have learned how to be self aware of my imbalances and self correct. If you are interested in reading about my journey towards self awareness follow my blog. I intend to use my writing to share what I have experienced, what lessons they have taught me and how you can learn from my mistakes to better your own life. By the end of this series I want to show you my vision of what I hope the world will become.
Thanks for reading. I love your comments and feed back, especially constructive criticism. I hope you have a great day!

-Thomas Lass

Sources

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Twins
2. “About the Author" in Rand 1992, pp. 1170–71
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivism_(Ayn_Rand)
4. https://quotesgram.com/objectivism-quotes/
5. http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/
6. Comte, August. Catéchisme positiviste (1852) or Catechism of Positivism, trans. R. Congreve, (London: Kegan Paul, 1891)
7. https://lutalica.in/altruism-to-the-one-who-need-it/
8. https://trusting-the-sparkling-life.blogspot.com/