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    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Home/Original/inverse
    See Original
    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Mandeville and Helvetius demonstrated that natural desires for others' happiness can be fully explained as disguised self-interest, socialized through habit and reinforcement.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Some aid stranger-anonymously-to-death cases (organ donation, rescue) with zero reputational benefit, defying pure self-interest explanations.
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    • 2.If all concern for others is disguised self-interest, the theory becomes unfalsifiable—any counterexample is reinterpreted as hidden selfishness.
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    • 3.Habits and reinforcement cannot create desires ex nihilo; they presuppose some prior capacity for genuine other-regarding motivation to shape.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Humans consistently prioritize kin and reciprocal partners, suggesting apparent altruism masks evolved self-interest in genetic or social returns.
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    • 2.People cease helping when observation ends and reputation costs disappear, indicating moral sentiment depends on external reinforcement, not intrinsic values.
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    • 3.Neuroimaging shows helping triggers reward centers identical to those activated by personal gain, suggesting unified mechanism beneath moral appearance.
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