EGOISM Psychological egoism - human nature
We are unable or unwilling to act unselfishly. For every "unselfish" action you can identify a selfish motive People believe what they want to believe, so if they want to find a selfish motive for something they will. What motivates people? Can we tell? In many cases we can make reasonable guesses, but not every time. Theory: Children read their parents as unselfish, but change their minds when they learn to speak, etc. How to understand what motivates people: Body language (eye movements) Tone of voice Patterns of behavior (repeated) Ex. I love you! *smack* Bring flowers Law is bad about assuming patterns of behavior - they'll say you robbed an 8th store if you robbed 7, even if you didn't. People are manipulative. Language - say one thing, mean another. Every action has possible selfish motives, but that doesn't mean the selfish motive is correct. Charity Gift giving manipulative - you love the gift, you'll love me