Why I Shouldn T I Be Selfish Analysis

In the text Twenty Questions by G Lee Bowie, I chose the chapter “Why Shouldn’t I Be Selfish”? In that chapter the two selections that were chosen were The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins and The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand. The two discuss and give examples of how selfishness is simply for survival and how being selfish can benefit that individual. The term selfishness stated by Ayn Rand is defined as “concern with one’s own interest” (525). In both selections of the chapter both philosophers compared how ones selfish action is based on the question, who benefits from it? Based off of both selections “The Selfish Gene” and “The Virtue of Selfishness” it can be agreed that when one is selfish he thinks of only the benefits he gain from it and not his rival. In the section “The
Richard Dawkins compared his point of view on the selfish individual, calling it a topic of aggression and using nature as an example. He compared the completive thought of a selfish individual to elephant seals fighting for the possession of a large harem full of females. Richard Dawkins main argument of his article is that though one want the benefits that come with his selfishness, will he actually gain it? “If I start a fight, I am just as likely to end up dead as he is”. Ayn Rands article differ from Richard Dawkins because he view the concept of either or not ones selfish actions is good or evil. Ayn Rand stated “it does not tell us whether concern with one’s own interest is good or evil” (525). Unlike Richard Dawkins, Ayn Rand discusses the personal ambition behind being selfish rather than the completive part of being and selfish