Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The Ethics of Emergency by Ayrn Rand

“The moral purpose of a man’s life is the achievement of his own happiness. This does not mean that he is indifferent to all men, that human life is of no values to him and that he has no reason to help others in an emergency. But this does not mean that he dies not subordinate his life to the welfare of others that he does not sacrifice himself to their needs that the relief of their suffering is not his primary concern, that any help he gives is an act of generosity, not of moral duty, that it is marginal and incidental – as disasters are marginal and incidental in the course of human existence – and that values, not disasters, are the goal, the first concern and the motive power of his life.” The Ethics of Emergency, Ayrn Rand
Altruism is the unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness and egoism as the excessive preoccupation with one's own well-being and interests, usually accompanied by an inflated sense of self-importance. This was the definition of aswers.com. Ang “The Ethics of Emergency” ay umiikot sa altruism at egoism.
Ayon kay Aryn Rand, “if a man accepts the ethics of altruism, he suffers the following consequences (in proportion to the degree of his acceptance): lack of self esteem, lack of respect for others, a nightmare of existence, and in fact, a lethargic indifference to ethics”. Ibig sabihin, kahit nagbigay ka ng tulong sa iba, ay may kahihinatnan pa rin.
“Sacrifice” is the surrender of a greater value for the sake of a lesser one or of a non – value. Thus, altruism, gauges a man’s virtue by the degree to which he surrenders, renounces, or betrays his values. The rational principle of conduct is the exact opposite: always act in accordance with the hierarchy of your values, and never sacrifice a greater value to a lesser one.”
Ibig sabihin nito na ang sakripisyo ay ang pagpili ng mas importanteng tao o bagay kaysa sa hindi importanteng bagay.
“The virtue involved in helping those one loves is not “selflessness” or “sacrifice”, but integrity. Integrity is loyalty to one’s convictions and value; it is the policy of acting in accordance with one’s values, of expressing, upholding and translating then into practical reality. If a man professes to love a woman, yet his actions are indifferent, inimical or damaging to her, it is his lack of integrity that him immoral.”
Isang halimbawa nito ay kung ang iyong kaibigan ay nagugutom,hindi sakripisyo ngunit integridad na bigyan mo siya ng pera para ipambili ng pagkain kaysa bumili ng kung anu anong bagay na hindi mahalaga.
“It is on the ground of that generalized good will and respect for the value of human life that one helps strangers in an emergency – and only in an emergency. It is important to differentiate between the rules of conduct in an emergency situation and the rules of conduct in the normal conditions of human existence. An emergency is an un – chosen, unexpected event, limited in time, that creates conditions under which human survival is impossible – such as floods, an earthquake, a fire a shipwreck. Here, men’s goal is to combat out the disaster, escape the danger and restore normal conditions. By “normal” conditions I mean metaphysically normal, normal in the nature of things and appropriate to human existence. Men can live on land, but not in water or in a raging fire. Since men are not impotent, it is metaphysically possible for unforeseeable disasters to strike them, in which case their only task is to return to those conditions under which their lives can continue. By its nature, an emergency situation is temporary: if it were to last, men would perish. It is only in emergency situations that one should volunteer to help strangers, if it is in one’s power.”
Ayon kay Ayrn Rand, isang imoral ang pagtulong ng isang tao sa kapwa lalo na kung ito ay isang normal na sitwasyon lamang. Halimbawa nito ay ang pagbibigay ng limos sa mga pulubi. Sabi niya, hindi talaga tayo tumutulong o hindi talaga natin sila tinutulungan, kundi kinukunsinti lamang natin sila sa kanilang ginagawa. Hindi daw ito isang kagipitan kundi isang normal na sitwasyon lamang. Kaya lamang tayo nagbibigay ay dahil may nararamdaman tayong awa sa kanila o ung “emotional attouchment” sa kanila. Upang mawala ang nararamdaman natin na ito, magbibigay tayo ng pera o ng kahit na anong bagay. Ngunit ito ay isang immoral na gawain para kay Ayrn Rand. Ang mga sitwasyon na nasa kagipitan ay tulad ng paglubog ng barko. Kung ikaw ay marunong lumangoy, tutulungan mo ang ibang taong hindi marunong lumangoy kahit hindi mo sila kilala. Tutulungan mo sila hanggang kayo ay makapunta sa baybayin o sa isang isla. Ngunit hanggang doon na lamang ang kanyang maitutulong. Bahala na ang taong sinagip sa kanyang pagkain o inumin. Hindi na obligasyon ng taong sumagip na alalahanin pa niya ang pagkain ng kasama.
“Philosophy is a matter of SURVIVAL”
                                                ---- Ayrn Rand




RIZZA M. DISU
BSBA MM I -1
MR. JAYSON DALWATAN

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