Quote:
Objectivist
Altruism is the idea that the highest moral duty of man is to sacrifice himself to other men. The basic premise is that man has no moral right to exist for his own sake, that he's only moral if he lives for the sake of others.
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I have to ask, where did you get this interpretation of the altruism?
Specifically the bit "that man has
no moral right to exist for his own sake".
That definitely sounds like a Rand thing.
Quote:
altruism
1. Loving others as oneself. 2. Behaviour that promotes the survival chances of others at a cost to ones own. 3. Self-sacrifice for the benefit of others [Italian: altrui others]
French philosopher Auguste Comte coined the word altruisme (with meaning 3) in 1851, and two years later it entered the English language as altruism. Many considered his ethical system - in which the only moral acts were those intended to promote the happiness of others - rather extreme, so meaning 1 evolved. Now universal in evolutionary theory, meaning 2 was coined by scientists exploring how unselfish behaviour could have evolved. It is applied not only to people (psychological altruism), but also to animals and even plants.
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Altruism - What Is It?
I would think Comte would disagree with your interpretation.