The Dangers of Objectification Consider for a moment the course typically taken in a class discussion. A person declares himself selfish, or relativist, or absolutist. These different terms are used to classify an individual according to their moral philosophy. Nietzsche has an important objection to these simplistic definitions. “Do we still have to talk like this today? Can we do it? (Nietzsche 463) This simplistic approach to classifying an individual presents difficulties. The first is that an individual does not allow himself to be so easily locked into a verbal box. Sartre would say that it is a way of objectifying the person in question. To say that I am selfish, or that another student is altruistic, is to imply that selfishness or altruism is the essential nature of the person, and that other considerations take second place and become unimportant under this veil of ethical philosophy of the person. . This is equating myself with selfishness, or equating the other student with relativism. But I'm more than selfish Bob; I'm also Bob the Philosopher, I'm Bob the Student, I'm Bob the Coffee Drinker. The name “Bob” refers to a necessarily abbreviated definition. When a stranger asks me who I am, it is not possible for me to provide a complete description. But when I describe some opinions, actions, and relationships, I do so in the hope that she can see me beyond the narrow confines imposed by what I can quickly say to her. It may be convenient to say, “But for this discussion, we are only considering your ethical theory. But in addition to objectifying the individual, this approach is too simplistic because it ignores the subtle nuances of meaning that exist between these philosophies. I consider myself an egoist because I believe that an individual's very nature gives him certain rights and that these rights do not include claims on the rights of others. But to say that I am an egoist is to imply that I agree, entirely or largely, with the ethical theories of Hobbes, Rand, and every other egoist who has ever philosophized - which is absolutely not not true, since I disagree with everyone. selfish people I know. For example, the popular conception of selfishness implies that I think it is morally acceptable to perform any action to achieve my ends, regardless of the effect on others..