Is The "Economic Man Hypothesis" a Reliable Explanation for Altruistic Behavior? an Analysis Based on the Philosophical Psychology

Abstract

The interpretation of altruistic behavior is related to the establishment of moral normative theory. However, the explanation from "economic man hypothesis" and utilitarian will lead to the dilemma that altruistic behavior is “either hypocritical or stupid”. This dilemma arises because philosophers have failed to understand the mechanisms underlying human altruistic behavior. Recent research in psychology has provided a lot of new evidence, which could be able to resolve this dilemma. For example, the results of some behavioral experiments demonstrated that there is a loophole in the “economic man hypothesis”, in another words, altruism can be both pure and wise. Future research needs to explore the essence structure of altruistic behavior by fully combining the strengths of philosophy and psychology.