The Dangers of Objectification :: Philosophy essays

The Dangers of Objectification   Consider for a moment the course typically taken in a section discussion. A person states that he is an egoist, or a relativist, or an absolutist. These discordant terms are used to classify an individual according to his clean philosophy. Nietzsche has an important objection to these simple definitions. Shall we still speak this way now? May we do so? (Nietzsche 463) There are difficulties in this simplistic approach to classifying an individual. The first is that an individual is non so easily crammed into a verbal box. Sartre would imagine that this is a way of objectifying the person under consideration. To say that I am an egoist, or that an separate student is an altruist, is to imply that self-seeking or altruism is the essential nature of the person, and that other considerations fade into the accentuate and become unimportant under this veil of the persons ethical philosophy. It is to equate me with egoism, or to equate the ot her student with relativism.   But I am to a greater extent than Bob the egoist I am also Bob the philosopher, I am Bob the student, I am Bob the coffee drinker. The signalise Bob points to a definition that is, of necessity, abbreviated. When a stranger asks me who I am, it is not possible for me to provide a complete description. But when I follow a few opinions, actions, and relationships, I do so hoping that she may get a line me beyond the narrow limits imposed by what I can say her quickly.   It may be convenient to say, But for this discussion we consider and your ethical theory. But besides objectifying the individual, this is overly simplistic because it ignores the subtle dark glasses of meaning which exist among these philosophies. I have in mind of myself as an egoist because I believe that the very nature of an individual grants him certain rights and that these rights do not include claims on the rights of another. But to say that I am an egoist is to imply that I agree, completely or mostly, with the ethical theories of Hobbes, Rand, and every other egoist who has ever philosophized--none of which is overwhelmingly true, since I differ with all of the egoists I am acquainted with. For example, the popular conception of egoism implies that I think it is morally acceptable to perform any action to achieve my ends, no matter of the effect on others.