ABSTRACT
Justice motivation is in conflict with the egoistic tendency as well as with the altruistic one, and it is essential to curb both in order to employ justice. Of course, the self is nearer to the acting person than the other is, and fulfilling one’s own needs is often more satisfying. In certain periods of time, in certain cultures and situations, curbing the egoistic tendency is a more strenuous task than curbing the altruistic one. Moreover, the more the self is cognitively accessible while making allocation decisions the more effort will be needed to counteract the egoistic tendency as, for instance, in Actor–Recipient allocations as compared to Actor–Recipient–Recipient allocations (the actor divides a resource among two or more recipients; see Chapter 3). Many philosophers have designed principles and laws to overcome the egoistic tendency. Counteracting the egoistic tendency is labeled by some philosophers (e.g., Kant 1778; see, however, Nietzsche 2003) duty, by others it is labeled virtue (e.g., Plato), while for Hobbes (1985; Taylor 1938) the egoistic tendency should be counteracted by a strong authority. It is curious that no philosophical systems have been developed that counteract the altruistic tendency.
