Consider the anecdote about Abraham Lincoln. While arguing the psychological egoist position with a friend, he stopped to help some drowning piglets. His friend remarked that his action was altruistic, not egoistic, to which Lincoln countered that it was indeed selfishness because if he didn't stop to help he'd have no peace of mind the rest of the day worrying about the piglets. Is it selfishness? Consider this: Why would Lincoln have had a disturbed peace of mind if he had not helped? Perhaps it is because, as psychological altruism asserts, people naturally act for each other's sake. Perhaps Lincoln responded to his natural condition of psychological altruism by acting according to his natural condition of psychological egoism! Discuss.

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The Answer of Consider the anecdote about Abraham Lincoln. While arguing the psychological egoist position with a friend, he stopped to help some drowning piglets. His friend remarked that his action was altruistic, not egoistic, to which Lincoln countered that it was indeed selfishness because if he didn't stop to help he'd have no peace of mind the rest of the day worrying about the piglets. Is it selfishness? Consider this: Why would Lincoln have had a disturbed peace of mind if he had not helped? Perhaps it is because, as psychological altruism asserts, people naturally act for each other's sake. Perhaps Lincoln responded to his natural condition of psychological altruism by acting according to his natural condition of psychological egoism! Discuss.

Consider the Anecdote About Abraham Lincoln