Several individuals who have studied "Moralism in Objectivism" have wondered about the biological basis of empathy. Some such people may find that this paper offers additional insight into Damian's views on this subject.

If you haven't yet studied the talk, "Moralism in Objectivism," since the following paper is included as an appendix, it's recommended that you first read or listen to that talk. For quick access, click here.

DRAFT-DO NOT CITE, REPRODUCE, OR DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR. NOTE THAT THIS PAPER WAS WRITTEN FOR AN ACADEMIC AUDIENCE, WHICH USES THE TERM "ALTRUISM" SOMEWHAT DIFFERENTLY THAN AYN RAND, THE FOUNDER OF OBJECTIVISM, USED IT.

I. Philosophical Questions

Many people accept without question that they should behave altruistically towards each other and that the government should structure society to force people to do so. I, however, will question these commonly held beliefs and evaluate them using evidence from experiments I have conducted to study altruism in non-human primates. The main questions I wish to answer are (1) Should I behave altruistically towards my fellow humans? and (2) Should the government force people to do so? Of course, the scope of these questions is enormous and would take at least a lifetime to answer completely. However, I will focus on how empirical research in one field of study - animal cognition - can contribute to answers to these questions.

To answer (1), the first question I must ask is, What is the value of behaving altruistically towards my fellow humans? Many philosophers (e.g., Kant, 1785/1993) argue that an action is moral only if it is done for its own sake, not if the intention is to make oneself feel good. A few others (e.g, Rand, 1961) argue that, to the contrary, an action's moral value is determined by its contribution to the actor's happiness. While determining the primary standard of value for the morality of human behavior is the fundamental question of ethics (i.e., the answers to all other moral questions depend on the answer to this one), this is outside of the scope of this thesis. Rather, I will assume that one's own happiness is of at least some value to every person and leave other moral concerns aside.

Once I have determined that my altruistic behavior should be evaluated, at least in part, according to its contribution to my happiness - its emotional value - I can begin to evaluate it. I can casually observe that when I help other people achieve ends that they cannot achieve by themselves, I usually feel good. When I do not do so, I often feel bad. A psychologist might even do a comprehensive study to show that altruistic people are, on average, happier than people who aren't [REF?]. Thus, I might be tempted to conclude that I should, in general, if happiness is my ultimate value, behave altruistically.