Self Love And The Desire example essay topic

Bret HribarQ 1: Butler's theory of desire separates all desires into two groups, the desire for "self-love" and the desire for "particular affection", which are all other desires like hunger, sleep, or sex. "Self-love" is a person general desire for happiness, this, as Butler states is an internal desire, a desire for our own enjoyment and satisfaction. Butler separates this desire from the desire for "particular affections" because these are all external desires, the desire for objects around us that fulfill those desires. He says that these desires are not based on reason, but may follow from it. For example a person instinctively wants to eat or drink but may not know why he needs to eat or drink. Therefore that desire for food is not a conscious decision, "I should eat now because I need the energy to live", but rather it is an innate desire, "I want food because I am hungry".

His distinction separates all the desires into the reasoning section of the mind, that a particular action would be in the best interest of themselves, "self-love", and the anomalistic desire for a certain thing. For example a person who wants to smoke a cigarette does so because of the need for nicotine, "a particular affection", whereas the person knows the cigarette is bad for them and that they shouldn't smoke, which is self interest. Q 2: In order to show that all actions are not motivated by self-love Butler gives reasons why all actions might be motivated by self-love and them tries to disprove them. He states that all desires are self motivated, even the ones that appear not to be.

A person may donate money to help the less fortunate but they are not motivated to do so because of a need to decrease someone else's suffering but are motivated by a need to ease their own guilt. The point he is making is that all actions done by a person are motivated by the desire for their own happiness and since all desires are ones own, all desires must be aimed at self-love. The reason, Butler points out, that this deduction is wrong is due to the target of the desire. Some things are pursued because we know that they will make us happier, the reason or target of this desire is internal, that self motivated action is self love.

Not all desires are based on our own best interest though, you may hate another person and want to hurt them, but by doing so may not be in your interest, he might break your face. The reason for your desire to fight him is hatred and not the need to help yourself. Every desire may be your own but that does not mean that all your desires are about you. Q 3: Butler's paradox is a major premise in proving his these that self-love and love of your neighbor are not conflicting. The paradox is found in the self defeating nature of all consuming self-love, or more simply stated if you love yourself to much it impedes you from attaining the goal of self interest, which is happiness. Butler categorizes self-love as a tool in obtaining happiness that should not be abused.

Self-love can only help in making one happy by, "setting oneself on work to get rid of the causes of ones misery, to gain or make use of those objects which afford satisfaction". Happiness comes from the enjoyment of the objects of our desires and not from self-love itself. The paradox occurs when a person is so engrossed with a need to make themselves happy that they focus all their energy on something that may not be obtainable, and may therefore overlook other things that are in reach that are enjoyable. A complete desire for self-love makes a person selfish, anxious, and alone, which are all in opposition to happiness. Butler is saying that since people are fallible and that they don't always know what will make them happy, obsessing about a particular thing will always lead to disappointment. The whole reason that Butler points out that this paradox is to show that if too much self-love is a bad thing than benevolence can only help a person to obtain happiness because it detracts from self interest, which may be self defeating.

Simply stated if your thinking of someone else when you act you can't only be thinking of yourself. Q 4: Since Butler's paradox, that unbridled self interest will never lead to happiness, is self defeating it is a contradiction with Aristotle's argument that all things we aim for eventually try to lead to our own happiness. Butler's paradox does not in fact prove Aristotle wrong but rather is in accordance with his argument that the highest good and the aim of all actions eventually lead to happiness. Butler just assumes that people are not intelligent enough to decide exactly what will lead them to happiness in life and that if you look for it too hard you won't find it. Aristotle on the other hand believes that if the correct decisions are made you will obtain the highest good, happiness, because all your actions try to aim for it.