Self-interest and the Concept of Self-sacrifice

Abstract

Owing to a genral dissatisfaction with hedonistic theories of value, a number of recent discussions have sought to identify an agent's selfinterest, individual utility, or personal welfare with what the agent most wants to do, all things considered. Two features of these accounts merit special attention for the argument in this paper. First, on such accounts any desire or aversion which persists in the face of complete information is logically relevant to the determination of an agent's self interest. This includes apparently altruistic desires like a desire for another's happiness as well as more narrow and self-regarding desires like a desire to eat a good meal. Second, when the agent finds himself in a situation where he must choose between incompatible desires, his informed preference determines the act which is most in his self-interest.

Intuitive Hedonism

“…These, like the metaphysical cases, are related to cases we have reviewed which apparently tell against hedonism, yet they intuitively tell, on balance, against at least the dominant desire-based accounts and for something like hedonism. These cases indeed invoke a characteristic difficulty for desire-based accounts (Overvold, 1980(Overvold, , 1982. The true satisfaction of desires may make no difference in one's experience, and in a way which hence has no obvious intuitive relevance to one's well-being.…”

Preferentism and Self‐sacrifice

“…The target of Overvold's argument from self‐sacrifice, and many of the arguments of the other philosophers discussed above, is a souped‐up version of this subjectivist approach. According to the souped‐up theory, we look not at the actual desires the person has for each of her various possible lives but instead at her idealized desires: typically, the desires she would have if she ‘had been fully exposed to available information’ and were to keep this information ‘firmly and vividly in mind’ (Brandt, 1972, p. 682, quoted in Overvold, 1980, pp. 106–107).…”

“…Eventually all four sons complete their education and enjoy very happy and rewarding lives. (Overvold, 1980, p. 108)…”

The Locative Analysis of Good For Formulated and Defended

“…Indeed, it is a fixed point in our discussion of such theories that they not make self-sacrifice impossible. The most influential discussion of this kind of problem, discussed within the context of desire-fulfillment theories in particular, is Overvold (1980). For discussion of these issues see also Rosati (2009b).…”