This view is sometimes known as predominant egoism , the view that our behavior is mostly, but not wholly, self-interested.
The 20 th Century philosopher Gregory Kavka presents this as the best version of Hobbes’ view. Against such a view, we might worry that once we allow that altruistic behavior is at all possible, it seems attractive to understand a lot of human behavior in that light: think of small acts of apparent kindness such as holding a door open for a stranger, or smiling when you see a friend.