But while this may be true on many, even most occasions, it misses the distinctive point of generosity. If I act generously toward others I am endeavoring to make their world more hospitable. Benefits accruing to me are side effects. By analogy, when I paint my house and landscape my garden I enhance my neighbors' property values, but it would be seriously misleading to say that what I was doing was trying to make them richer. The problem with this claim is not that it is false but that it begs the question.
Social beings do enjoy helping others out in a pinch.
But to take pleasure from making things go better for others presupposes that one independently values their well-being, else there would be no pleasure in helping them. What we need to be told is why this way of securing pleasure is especially meritorious. That is why their answers are unconvincing. I think not. With Machan, we can reject the demand that we set our own interests and projects on a par with those of all others.