Claude Adrian Alves was a representative figure among The French Materialists, born into the nobility and his parents were court physicians. When he was in middle school, he read Locke's Theory of Human Understanding, and there was a revolution in his mind, becoming a believer in Locke. In this regard, Marx commented in "The Holy Family":
Elvis also took Locke's doctrine as a starting point, in which materialism acquired a truly French character. Alteault immediately applied materialism to social life. ”
In Elvisith's writings, On the Spirit represents the philosophical aspect from which Locke is the starting point, while On the Intellectual Capacity and Education of Man represents his application of materialism to another aspect of social life. If Locke and Condiac were more concerned with human experience and sensibility, then Elvist not only discussed man's experience and sensibility, but also went on to study man himself, his interests, morality, intellect, reason, education, and so on. He put forward a very famous principle that human nature is selfish, which is a feeling that nature will give us, which drives human behavior, and we do not have to expect too much from people, and do not idealize all people as sages. We acknowledge the selfish nature of man, but we also acknowledge that this nature is not bad. The bad are those who exploit human nature to do evil — those who sow discord and incite people to fight each other.
Aier Maintenance (1715–1771)
<h1>Pleasure and pain are two factors that affect human nature</h1>
Elvision believed that man was a machine, mobilized by the sensibility of the flesh, and had to do all the things that the sensuality of the flesh performed—the motivation for man's actions was based on the senses. After the organs of the human body are stimulated by various stimuli and form feelings, they will prompt people to carry out activities, and the feelings that promote human activities can be divided into two aspects: pleasure and pain. Therefore, the human machine is activated by the two buttons of pleasure and pain. Regarding this principle, Erdi said succinctly: "Pleasure and pain are always the only principles that govern human action." ”
The most painful feeling is hunger, which is the fundamental motive of human action, and if Heaven satisfies all human needs, if the food that nourishes the body is as abundant as water and air, then man will never bother to move, and the machine will be stopped there. Thus the feeling of hunger perpetuates man—especially the poor—and it makes the majority of the people diligently subordinate to labor; on the contrary, the happiest feeling is enjoyment, which, on the other hand, governs the actions of the rich. There are two kinds of enjoyment, one is a direct enjoyment and the other is an expected enjoyment. The latter is imaginary pleasure, belonging to desire, so it is more intense and lasting than physical happiness, and it is the kind of happiness that gives people the most happiness.
So the two senses of pleasure and pain are the basic principles of human activity, the pleasure and pain of the flesh, which is the only real opportunity for total domination. Pleasure and pain are like a pendulum, which promotes human activity from two aspects, and man loves not honor, wealth, beauty, and title itself, but the pleasure that comes with possessing them; man is not afraid of poverty, want, and shabbiness itself, but of the state of hunger they bring. For a man to know him, to know him, to know him, or even to drive him, you have to know what makes him happy and what makes him miserable. Man's pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of suffering is the love of oneself, called self-love; to put this self-love first is selfishness.
<h1>Man is selfish because he loves himself</h1>
In On the Spirit, Alte says, "What makes our whole child ourselves is love for ourselves." "Self-love is the result of the use of all human desires and feelings on various objects. Why do people covet prestige and status in this way? This is because people love themselves, because they demand their happiness, and therefore the right to enjoy happiness. Seeking advantage and avoiding harm is human instinct, and everyone must always save themselves first, and then they can take into account the interests of the ancestors and future generations, and then they can consider the interests of others. Man has to be selfish because he loves himself, and if he does not adhere to this principle, then at any moment he may lead to self-destruction. This is the so-called man who does not do it for himself, and the heavens are damned.
Each person is a unique "me", "I" is the subject of feelings, and feelings drive "me". For myself, "I" am in a preemptive position, ahead of others. So when weighing the stakes, I instinctively prioritize myself, and most people do the same. If the benefits can only be obtained by harming others, then many people will struggle in their conscience; and if the benefits can be obtained through hard work, and will not smooth the original interests of others, then most people will naturally give priority to themselves and will never easily give up the benefits.
Therefore, when we say selfishness, we do not mean harming others and benefiting ourselves, but we mean prioritizing our own interests. Everyone wants society not to obstruct their natural rights and to create adequate conditions for the realization of their personal interests. Most of the preaching that exhorts people to sacrifice themselves and dedicate themselves to others is unpopular because they violate the principle of self-love and do not take human nature into account. Unless oppressive means are employed, it is not possible for people to sacrifice the fundamental interests of the individual and serve the group.
<h1>Selfishness is not against morality</h1>
In the past, people thought that selfishness was immoral according to traditional moral concepts, and it was easy to confuse it with self-interest. Even if we admit that human nature is selfish, we refuse to accept it, but hope to persuade people to give more through moral indoctrination—morality becomes something that corrects human nature. Elvisith, on the other hand, is the basis of morality: the principle of selfishness is the basis of morality, everyone has the right to pursue his own interests, as long as he does not hinder others, the law should guarantee this right, and morality should encourage him to achieve his own interests-morality should contribute to the full realization of human nature.
When people live in the world, they must first get rid of the pain of hunger, and then they pursue the pleasure of enjoyment. A good society should free the majority of the people from poverty, live a prosperous life, and encourage them to strive for their own interests; rather than reprimanding them, saying that the pursuit of wealth is insatiable greed, getting rid of poverty is good and bad work, and only those who sacrifice themselves are considered the most noble. It is not right to regard morality and selfishness as incompatible sides, but rather morality should be based on respecting selfish humanity and recognizing everyone's right to love and protect themselves and prioritize their own interests. As long as he does not harm others and benefit himself, there is no blame.
This kind of thinking had a huge influence on later utilitarianism and classical economics and became their philosophical foundation. It was on the basis of Ertian that the English utilitarian Bentham used pleasure and pain as the master of man to write the Introduction to the Principles of Morality and Legislation and established a utilitarian legal theory. Bentham also further studied the determinants of pleasure and pain size, analyzing the purity of pleasure and pain values. This was inherited by classical economists, ricardo, who studied economics on the basis of utilitarianism earlier, and later Mill, who also inherited it, and during the marginal revolution, Jevons directly used utilitarian principles to analyze utilitarian theory of value. Their philosophical foundations can all be traced back to Alvesh's doctrine of "self-love."
<h1>Human nature is not evil, evil is people who use human nature to do bad things</h1>
Alves said: "Interests govern all our judgments. "It is human nature to pursue profits and avoid harm, and it determines people's judgment. If there are two glasses of wine on the table, one of which is poisonous, then most people want the person who drank the poisoned wine is not themselves. Although we hope in our hearts that the unlucky egg will drink the poisonous wine first, we are not evil, because we do not force him to drink, but only out of self-care and hope that the calamity will be divided away by others.
Human nature is selfish, but man is not evil. If we insist that human nature is evil, it is assumed that everyone will harm others and benefit themselves, but selfishness is not the same as harming others and self-interest. Most people live in this world, will encounter misfortune and get good luck, they are trying to fight for their own happiness, trying to avoid disasters from falling on their heads. As long as we do not rob others of what they deserve, nor do we divert the calamities they deserve, then no matter how much we prioritize our own interests, we will not violate morality and the law. The one who keeps to himself is not related to evil, and selfishness is his inherent right without harming the interests of others.
But there are those who are keen to take advantage of the unscored blessings and are good at marrying others, who take advantage of the selfish nature of human nature to tempt them to base their happiness on the suffering of others. A good society should do its best to avoid such self-serving activities, so that those evil people have nowhere to play. To maintain fairness and order, society must first recognize human nature, recognize human nature, and respect human nature. Human nature is selfish, so it is necessary to provide guarantees for everyone to realize their own interests, and respect their right to maximize their interests, which is a positive aspect; in the negative aspect, it is necessary to suppress those behaviors that violate human nature, persuade others to sacrifice or harm others.
In a good society, everyone is free to pursue his own happiness, and as long as he does not hinder the interests of others, his personal interests will be guaranteed. Society effectively avoids acts that harm others and self-interest, and respects people's selfish intentions. In such a society, although human nature is selfish, it is well ordered, the property is abundant, and the rights of man are guaranteed; in an abnormal society, selfishness is equated with self-interest, and people condemn their own nature from a false moral standpoint, do not respect the rights of individuals, and demand that everyone must bow to the collective, as if individual interests are contrary to social interests. Second, in such a society, self-interested behavior is not suppressed, the principle of mutual harm becomes the consensus, and everyone strives to base his happiness on the suffering of others.
Therefore, acknowledging that human nature is selfish is not the same as acknowledging that human nature is inherently evil. Societies that respect humanity have instead developed, while societies that have tried to "correct" humanity have moved towards evil.