I recently purchased a gently used car from a fellow student who was in a bit of a jam. The balloon payment for the car had wiped out his savings and he faced an oncoming school year in need of a job and short on resources. He had a variable asking price and offered me the lowest price he was willing to take. I made a larger counter offer. You might accuse me of arrogantly proclaiming my virtue, but in all honesty, offering a larger price was still in my own self interest.
Economists discuss the value one places on something using the neutral term, ‘utility.’ Utility is the value someone places on an object, a principle or an action. Just about any interaction between people can be assigned a ‘utility’ value. How many ‘utils’ of value would you place on the time you are spending to read this? Obviously, it is of greater utility to you than (insert alternative activity), because you are still reading… Perhaps you just stopped, realizing that the utility value of reading about utils is less valuable than the next episode of Top Chef. I certainly won’t try to make a persuasive case against good cooking, but the idea of utility is important. Several research questions come to my mind: Does God act in His own self interest? Does God appeal to our self-interest to influence our relationship with Him? Are our sacrificial acts really in accord with a different self-interest?
I’ll take shot at the last question and leave the others for another time. When I paid more than my friend’s asking price was I ignoring my own self interest? I could have made a lower offer… In actuality, I wanted to make sure that my friend did not feel that I had taken improper advantage of our relationship in a business transaction. The utility value of fair dealing with a good friend was of greater value to me than the money charged in the transaction. I paid a slightly higher price than I could have, but gained a necessary vehicle in good condition and ensured good relations with my friend. All in accordance with my own selfish desires. Can you think of an example where you cannot identify some aspect of self-interest in an interaction with another person? I’m starting to think that self interest is ubiquitous.
I have recently been reading a little bit about "ethical egoism". This view of morality states that we all operate constantly in the realm of self-interest/selfishness and therefore should not try and do otherwise (indeed we cannot). Therefore Altruism is absurd. One of the criticisms against this view is that all of our actions can be re-interpreted after the fact to reveal some level of self-interest. This makes deciding if self-interest is the primary motivation almost impossible. It is not verifiable.
ReplyDeleteAll that to say that I believe God does act with some self-interest (as we all do). But we need to make a distinction between self-interest and selfishness (which the ethical egoists don't do). It is in God's self-interest to bless His creation because then his creation will enjoy true life as they worship him. I think this fits into your illustration nicely. You took a potential hit on the price (which would have fulfilled a short-term self-interest goal: saving money), in order to pursue a more valuable (in your opinion) long term goal of friendship.
I also think the distinction between self-interest and selfishness is important for your second question. God does appeal to our self-interest (Illus: not wanting to go to Hell, wanting to be rewarded, etc) and yet commands us to not be selfish.
I think the distinction you note is critical to understanding the value of self-interest. Selfishness only looks at the interests of the actor, without regard to larger concerns, while self-interest is broader and takes into account values that are larger than the individual. Researchers note a change in behavior toward higher values when someone is watching. The believer recognizes that Someone is always watching.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about this in loving my wife. Am I doing it as an act of sacrifice, or because I get so much more in return, and have already received so much more from her?
ReplyDeleteMaybe "self-interest" also considers the other, and pursues "blessing" for them as well, whereas "selfishness" isn't concerned about the other at all. It does seem like that can cross over quite a bit, though.
Chris D.
Chris, that is good observation. Our actions cannot (and should not IMO) be divided into altruistic acts and selfish acts. That would be too simplistic. There is often a combination of benefit for self (self-interest) and desire to bless others (altruism). Good to "see" you on the blog!
ReplyDeleteInteresting questions, Todd. I've been dealing with these same questions ever since Kelly O'Rear introduced me to John Piper. :)
ReplyDeletePiper's book Desiring God postulates that not only do we do everything out of self-interest, but God does as well (he uses Psalms 115:3 to prove the latter point). As Michael pointed out, most any action can be analyzed in hindsight to "prove" self-interest; so Piper has quite an easy task in legitimizing his fundamental assertion.
This past year in a philosophy course, I discovered that the idea of "sola self interest" appears to have originated in Greek philosophy. Plato attributes it to Socrates in one of his dialogues (can't remember which one at the moment).
My humble opinion is that motives are ridiculously complicated, meddled, and oftentimes conflicting (arguably more so for believers), as Michael hinted at in his response to Chris. Thankfully, I'm not sure there exists any instruction in Scripture or Christian tradition to engage in motive examination as a means to growth, maturity, or holiness. As for whether God acts only out of self-interest...I'll join you in not touching that question.
For whatever all that's worth. :)
Hope all's well.