What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03)
You scored as Strong Egoism
Your life is very much guided by the concept of Egoism: You work primarily to promote your own interests.
“I swear by my life, and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.”
“I am not primarily an advocate of capitalism, but of egoism; and I am not primarily an advocate of egoism, but of reason. If one recognizes the supremacy of reason and applies it consistently, all the rest follows.”
--Ayn Rand
Showing 4 out of 4 comments, oldest first:
Comment on Jun 21, 2008 at 16:39 by Anonymous
Hedonism 100%
Existentialism 80%
Strong Egoism 70%
Apathy 65%
Utilitarianism 45%
Kantianism 45%
Justice (Fairness) 30%
Nihilism 15%
Divine Command 0%
I believe you are a fair man, but doesn't fairness contradict egoism? How would you play prisoner's dilema, assuming you were one of the suspects and both of the suspect were falsely accused (which would make "betray" option decisively unfair)?
Comment on Jun 21, 2008 at 17:15 by denisbider
Anyway, the real world is a repeated prisoner's dilemma. It has been shown that, in repeated prisoner's dilemmas, a tit-for-tat strategy is one of the most successful. (Cooperate until betrayed, then betray next time, then cooperate again.)
Other successful strategies might be tit-for-two-tats, or two-tits-for-tat. Which one is actually best, might depend on the environment.
The author of this quiz quotes Ayn Rand as a proponent of what he calls Strong Egoism. Now, granted, I haven't read any of her books, but if anyone was ever a principled person, I think Ayn Rand was.
So it's probably a misunderstanding of "Strong Egoism" to think that this is the same as "vulgar egoism", i.e. doing what benefits you in the short run. A strong egoist will do what benefits them in the long run, and this will usually be a principled choice, because principles pay off in the long run.
Comment on Jun 21, 2008 at 17:17 by denisbider
Comment on Jun 25, 2008 at 03:01 by verbatim