Excerpt from The Duty of Altruism
There is no more perplexing problem before the philosophy of conduct than the search for a sufficient ground of the obligation to be altruistic. That humanity acknowledges the existence of this obligation is plainly shown by a psychological analysis and historical survey of the phenomena of moral consciousness. This investigation undertakes a study of the attempted solutions of the problem.
The most common way of trying to solve the problem is altogether unsatisfactory. It shows, first, that the man who "fulfills his duties to himself" by taking good care of himself is also "fulfilling his duties to others" in becoming capable of rendering greater service to them, that is, in becoming a better providing father and husband and a more intelligent and useful citizen; and secondly, that the man who "fulfills his duties to others" by serving them, being a good husband, father, and citizen, is at the same time "fulfilling his duties to himself" in enlarging his life. Such a procedure as this merely evades the problem.
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