Blog Post 2 (The Skeptics to The Utilitarian, and Your Life)

Am I only motivated by self-interest? Has everything I’ve ever done been motived by the idea of my own benefit? Psychological Egoism is defined as “we are always interested chiefly in our own welfare, whether or not we admit it. That’s not to say we don’t care about anyone or anything else, but this caring is based on how things affect our own happiness.” (Chapter 12, Section 3b). Aristippus and Bentham believed that psychological egoism is natural and universal (Chapter 12, Section 3b). We seek pleasure and avoid pain (Chapter 12, Section 3b).

I do believe that I, for my entire life, have acted on self-interest and have sought after pleasure and tried to avoid pain. I as a human have tried to avoid pain at all costs, I think this applies to all humans. Most humans and animals tend to avoid pain, why? Because pain hurts and no one likes to be hurts. The reason I act on my own self-interest is because at the end of the day even our loved ones are primarily looking out for themselves. We tend to choose to do what we think will benefit us the most, we keep other people in mind too, but in my mind at least I am number one.

Like I’ve said before I work at a distribution warehouse, I am a warehouse associate. I am just a worker I have no authority or any say about what happens in the warehouse. Me and my coworkers all have a certain quota we have to meet, that being we have to grab, stack, and scan three packages from a conveyor belt every minute. My warehouse is only part time so we work for four to five hours every day. From the beginning to the end of my shift all the workers have to do this every single minute. Most do not meet the quota which is why our warehouse is mostly temporary workers that are let go if they don’t meet the quota. When I am grabbing packages and trying to be fast and do my best I cannot help my coworkers out if they need help with one of the heavier packages, this is because if I do I will then fall behind which at my warehouse is really bad. If we fall behind by a certain number of packages we can be written up and after the second write up we are let go. This is why I act on my own self-interest and everyone else comes second to me.

We cannot always look out for our friends or people we like because we are here in life trying to succeed like everyone else. We can’t feel bad or sad sometimes because in the end we are just looking out for ourselves. I try to help other people out sometimes at work but I can only do so much when I am under pressure to meet their quota. Sometimes we feel bad but if I lost my job trying to help someone else I would feel worst because that is what humans try to avoid pain. I am not only motivated by self-interest but it is one of my biggest motivations. Not everything I’ve ever done was for my own benefit but most of my decisions have been.

Word Count: 565

Blog Post 2 (The Skeptics to The Utilitarian, and Your Life)

Am I only motivated by self-interest? Has everything I’ve ever done been motived by the idea of my own benefit? Psychological Egoism is defined as “we are always interested chiefly in our own welfare, whether or not we admit it. That’s not to say we don’t care about anyone or anything else, but this caring is based on how things affect our own happiness.” (Chapter 12, Section 3b). Aristippus and Bentham believed that psychological egoism is natural and universal (Chapter 12, Section 3b). We seek pleasure and avoid pain (Chapter 12, Section 3b).

I do believe that I, for my entire life, have acted on self-interest and have sought after pleasure and tried to avoid pain. I as a human have tried to avoid pain at all costs, I think this applies to all humans. Most humans and animals tend to avoid pain, why? Because pain hurts and no one likes to be hurts. The reason I act on my own self-interest is because at the end of the day even our loved ones are primarily looking out for themselves. We tend to choose to do what we think will benefit us the most, we keep other people in mind too, but in my mind at least I am number one.

Like I’ve said before I work at a distribution warehouse, I am a warehouse associate. I am just a worker I have no authority or any say about what happens in the warehouse. Me and my coworkers all have a certain quota we have to meet, that being we have to grab, stack, and scan three packages from a conveyor belt every minute. My warehouse is only part time so we work for four to five hours every day. From the beginning to the end of my shift all the workers have to do this every single minute. Most do not meet the quota which is why our warehouse is mostly temporary workers that are let go if they don’t meet the quota. When I am grabbing packages and trying to be fast and do my best I cannot help my coworkers out if they need help with one of the heavier packages, this is because if I do I will then fall behind which at my warehouse is really bad. If we fall behind by a certain number of packages we can be written up and after the second write up we are let go. This is why I act on my own self-interest and everyone else comes second to me.

We cannot always look out for our friends or people we like because we are here in life trying to succeed like everyone else. We can’t feel bad or sad sometimes because in the end we are just looking out for ourselves. I try to help other people out sometimes at work but I can only do so much when I am under pressure to meet their quota. Sometimes we feel bad but if I lost my job trying to help someone else I would feel worst because that is what humans try to avoid pain.

Word Count: 532

Can Stoicism help us to succeed in life?

Can Stoicism help us to succeed in life?

Stoics believe that we are the only ones that can make us happy or unhappy, and that everything is based on our attitude. Stoicism is defined as “A philosophy that counsels self-control, detachment, and acceptance of one’s fate as identified by the objective use of reason.” (Chapter 7 Introduction). “The Stoics learned, as many of us do, that our lives are not entirely our own… Rather than complain about what they could not control, the Stoics chose to master what they could: their own minds. By mastering their thoughts, they believed, they could master their feelings.” (Section 7-7). “In some mysterious way, the actual course of our lives is directed by the Logos, which the Stoics thought of as World Reason or Cosmic Mind… Sometimes the Logos is referred to as God, Zeus, Nature, Providence, Cosmic Meaning, or Fate.” (Section 7-7)

I believe that stoicism does in fact help people get through tough times and make the most of what we have. Epictetus was a former slave and practicing Stoicism helped him get through it. He knew his situation but he did not let it make him unhappy. He knew he only had control over one thing and one thing only which were his reactions. This is how he made it through being a slave and to become one of the most influential Stoic Philosophers.

I work at a Distribution Warehouse and our busiest time of the year is the holiday season. At which time everyone is forced to stay overtime as needed and I work on my feet all day long and my boss is very rude. By the end of the day I am so tired that I have felt like just quitting and finding a lower paying job that is easier. I never do this because I know I have responsibilities and I have to meet them, I have enough self-discipline to stay at work and make the most of it. I try to stay positive when I’m told to do something I don’t want to do and I try to just get it over with. When I come home I try to look at the bright side, for example I just made some good money and I am employed. I know that only I can make myself happy or unhappy so I try to make myself happy.

I think this way because I know people have it harder than me and I know that when I come home I want to be happy and not bitter and mad about my job. It is a better way of dealing with life than just getting mad and sad about things I can’t control. We can’t control everything that life throws in our way but we can control how happy we are by not letting a situation get in the way of our happiness. We also have to accept and come to terms that this is our life and this is who it is going to be, not forever but for at least now. I am also religious and I agree that God controls what happens and has a plan for me. 

Word Count:531

Philosophy

I love Philosophy