Psychological Egoism

Psychological egoists argue that people always do what is in their perceived best interests, even if outwardly the action appears to be for the benefit of someone else. Ultimately this probably cannot be proven or disproven definitively because it is a matter of interpretation, but here I argue that there could be some actions that people take which are motivated by a sincere desire to benefit others. I argue that some people may be able to empathize with others to such an extent that they view actions which benefit the other party the same way as if it was of personal benefit to them. This would be like an extension of the self in the agent's mind to include others. For such an individual there would be no distinction between self-interest and the interests of those that are included in this group, in the agent's mind. If this is true then this extension of the 'self' to include others should not be referred to as 'egoism'