The individual's good and the good of others: VCE Philosophy
“Viewpoints and arguments on how the good of the individual relates to the good of others and the community”
Three broad positions. Egoism says each person should pursue their own good. Altruism says we should give weight to others' good, even at cost to ourselves. A harmonising view says that properly understood, my good and others' good are intertwined, so living well includes living well with others. Aristotle (friendship, the social nature of humans), Allen (equitable self-interest) and Cicero (friendship grounded in virtue) lean toward harmony. Singer and Weil press the claim that others' needs make demands on us. Wolf warns that devoting oneself entirely to others' good can leave out parts of the individual's own good. Distinguish the claims, then defend a position about where the balance lies.
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What this dot point is asking
Is my good in conflict with the good of others, or do they coincide? Area of Study 2 asks you to broaden from the individual to relationships and communities, and to re-examine your earlier views on the good life in that light.
Three models
- Egoism: the only ultimate reason I have is my own good. Callicles is an extreme example, though even he needs others' labour.
- Altruism or impartial duty: others' good counts as much as mine, and sometimes outweighs mine. Singer's argument comes close to this.
- Harmony or integration: my good is partly constituted by relationships, justice and community, so there is less conflict than appears. Aristotle holds that humans are social, and that virtues such as justice and friendship are parts of flourishing.
What the texts add
- Aristotle: the happy person needs friends, and virtue is exercised in a community. So individual flourishing includes others.
- Allen: equitable self-interest suggests my interests, rightly understood, are connected with the fair treatment of others, including strangers, since a trusting, fair society serves everyone. Sacrifice for fair arrangements is part of this picture, so harmony is not automatic. Check how your extract (pp. 133 to 139) states it.
- Cicero: in Laelius, friendship rests on virtue and goodwill, so caring for a friend is part of one's own good life, not a rival to it.
- Singer: my comfort and others' survival can conflict, and where the cost to me is small and the benefit to them large, I should give.
- Weil: every human has needs that create obligations, so the good of others is not an optional extra.
- Wolf: the individual's own projects, tastes and relationships are also valuable, so a good life is not exhausted by service.
- Mill: protecting individual liberty is in everyone's interest, but the limit is harm to others.
Re-examining your Area of Study 1 view
The study design asks you to revisit your position on the individual's good in light of others. Practical way: take your view from Unit 3 Area of Study 1 (for example, that a good life includes freedom, friendship and some pleasure), and test it against these questions. Does it ask anything of me for others? Would it still seem good if everyone lived like this? Does it tolerate injustice that benefits me? Then adjust or defend.
Evaluating the positions
- Egoism struggles with the intuition that morally we must sometimes sacrifice for others, and with the fact that a purely self-focused life seems empty.
- Altruism/impartial duty struggles with demandingness and partiality, and the sense that individuals have a life of their own.
- Harmony is attractive but may be too convenient: there seem to be real cases where doing right costs the individual, such as whistleblowing at great personal cost. A harmonising theorist must either say such people still live well, or admit conflict.
Question: Does living well require caring about the good of others?
I argue it does, to a significant degree. First, relationships feature in nearly all plausible accounts of the good life, as in Aristotle's argument that the happy person needs friends. Second, a society without trust and fairness (Allen) makes everyone's life worse, including those who benefit unfairly in the short run. Third, Singer's pond case shows that most of us recognise an obligation to others where cost is low.
Objection: this makes caring for others a way of serving myself.
Reply: in genuine friendship and care, I want the other's good for their sake. That my life is better because I care does not make the caring selfish, it shows how the two goods interweave. But I accept Wolf's limit: my own projects also count, so there is no duty to give up everything.
Practice questions
Explain how Aristotle might argue that my good is connected to the good of others.
Model answer: Humans are social, and virtues such as justice and friendship are exercised toward others. A flourishing life includes these activities, so it cannot be achieved without a concern for others.
Give one reason why the harmony view might be too optimistic.
Model answer: Some actions that benefit others, such as exposing wrongdoing in one's workplace, may cost the individual their career, so doing right and doing well for oneself can come apart.
When asked to compare, name the relation each writer assumes: conflict, coincidence or partial overlap. That single word often carries the whole comparison.