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Is it immoral to take advantage of “competitive spirit”?

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Ayn Rand famously said that “A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others”, and the importance of this principle is illustrated in the profound difference between the characters of Howard Roark and Peter Keating in The Fountainhead.

 

I am, nevertheless, wondering whether or not it is immoral to take advantage of “competitive spirit” as a physiological tool when you are working, training etc. Your fundamental motivation should of course not steam from “…the desire to beat others”, but could it be justified as physiological tool to help you achieve a certain goal (with a proper fundamental motivation)? 

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I do not know that it would be immoral to rely upon a physiological tool.... it likely represents a deficiency in character on one's journey to moral perfection.

 

Imagine a man who rationally knows that some action is proper, but he does not, for whatever reason, take the action.  If he, for example, loves the smell of chocolate, he could set up a physiological reward system... allowing himself a sniff when he takes the action, and denying himself his regular sniffs when he defaults on the action.

 

Now is such a thing somewhat preposterous? yes.  Is it immoral?  no... Is it something he should do on his way to perfecting his character?  perhaps.  I, however, would tend to believe most intelligent rational people would gain more from working directly on the problem of taking action for the right reasons rather than relying on physiological ... treats.

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I am, nevertheless, wondering whether or not it is immoral to take advantage of “competitive spirit” as a physiological tool when you are working, training etc. Your fundamental motivation should of course not steam from “…the desire to beat others”, but could it be justified as physiological tool to help you achieve a certain goal (with a proper fundamental motivation)? 

Can't see why it would be immoral in any way. As you say, the primary motivation, is not merely to be better than someone. To illustrate, imagine trying to be better than someone who you know is not as good as you are (in whatever field)... but he's the one that matters in a social sense. For instance, you're a swimmer and you transfer to a school where the swim team is not very good, and the other local teams aren't that good either,... at least by your own level of performance. You feel super confident that you can win the local championships with very average training on your part. How much fun is that? That's as much fun as playing cards with a 5 year old, or playing the most basic level of a video game after you've mastered the blood and gore level. 

 

The stereo-type of the "second-hander" would be someone to whom the relative performance is primary. In contrast, a rational person is trying to achieve something -- a swim-time, a low-cost building design, a certain taste in a steak. However, while aiming for something, we always have a sense of what's possible, and this frames our goals: a certain timing, a certain cost-per-square-foot, a certain level of tastiness (this one is hard, but turns out to be illustrative). Suppose I'm aiming to lift 170 pounds. With common sense, I'd have framed this goal based on reality: my own weight, my physical condition, my age, how much I've lifted before, and -- importantly -- how much people similar to me can lift. Existing performances become a benchmark. If I'm a recent weight-lifter aiming for 170 pounds and the class champ is lifting 220, I might see that as a long term aim. If my pal Tommy -- who signed up with me -- suddenly does 180, I might well change my goal. What changes -- for a rational person -- is their evaluation of what is possible to a person like them.

Edited by softwareNerd
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