Do others here agree with the above quoteHobbes' Choice wrote:
Acting against your own interest can be ethical
In looking for ways to make Hobbes right, I recalled that once, in my manual, ETHICS: A College Course, I defined a word as another manifestation of Intrinsic Value. That concept was an example of extreme self-sacrifice. The word was "heroism." The example I used to illustrate the concept was an individual pushing a child out of the path of an oncoming vehicle, managing to save the child from danger but in the process getting killed by the moving vehicle. Surviving was in that person's self-interest; rescuing the toddler was ethical. S/he acted against self-interest in that act of heroism. Perhaps that is what Hobbes had in mind when he wrote the above quote.
Incidentally, I might call attention to the fact that I'm not a Cultural Relativist, ethically speaking; in other words, I do not hold the position - as, on the contrary, Hobbes seems to believe - that the practices of all cultures are equally morally valid. Cultures that hold slaves, or that practice cannibalism are not morally healthy according to the science of Ethics.
Nor do I believe that the U.S.A. is exceptional when it comes to generosity, civility, and liberty. Yes, other nations are less flexible, with less internal variations, and thus could be labelled 'rigid.'
And it is worth noting that I am certainly NOT a moralist; rather, I am a scientist. I study patterns, relationships, connectivity and draw tentative conclusions from the factual data. I have made hypothetical suggestions as to how to live, in the form: If you want a QL, then do this ... (where QL stands for "Quality Life.") There was nothing absolutistic about it. Each suggestion is subject to modification when new facts are discovered. Each 'moral principle' offered is a testable hypothesis subject to replication and to either disproof or added verification.
It's not about me. It's about sharpening up our understanding of Ethics, and having a theory that explains how people think about moral matters as they do, why some become hitmen, some become con artists, some enjoy manipulating others, feeling superior. Some feel very compassionate toward animals and feel a strong kinship. All of it can be analyzed and reduced to simple laws ...the laws of human nature. And these can be shown to be special cases of Natural Laws. So let's get busy and work it out.