Abraham Lincoln Experts: I have a question.

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I either read or heard a story some time ago about him that was very enlightening about altruism.

He and his political opponent were traveling together in a coach to their next debate. [?!]

They'd been discussing self-sacrifice. Lincoln basically was arguing for enlightened self-interest. They other other guy was basically saying your life has no meaning unless you live a life of self-sacrifice. (That's the Readers Digest version)

It's a little more fuzzy here.

The coach came upon a litter of puppies in the road. The mother had been killed in the road.

Lincoln stops the coach and gets the puppies so he can take them to the next town.

His opponent says that Lincoln is being "self-sacrificing" and that this act proves his opponent's assertion; that Lincoln - and everyone else - found contentment in being altruistic.

Lincoln says, "No, it was an act of self interest. I empathized with the puppies. I would not have been able to sleep if we'd left them here. I would have worried about their fate here in the wild. So, in order that I would sleep better, I helped them."

I want to fill in the blanks and see if my impression is correct.

Where can I find this story?

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Hi?

No idea about the Lincoln story, sorry.

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I have never come across this story about Lincoln and the puppies before. As with many of the stories associated with Lincoln, I doubt it is based on fact.

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These are generic stories that tend to attach themselves to historical public figures because they reflect what people think, or want to think, they were like.

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I really doubt this is a true story.

You did know, however, that Lincoln was the first Jewish President?

He got shot in the temple, didn't he?

I'm sorry...it had to be said.

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Equus wrote:

I really doubt this is a true story.

You did know, however, that Lincoln was the first Jewish President?

He got shot in the temple, didn't he?

I'm sorry...it had to be said.

A federal judge here in Illinois was named Abraham Lincoln Marovitz. The oft-told story of his name was that his immigrant Jewish mother heard that Lincoln led the slaves from their captivity, was shot in the temple, and was named Abraham, so she figured he must have been a great Jewish hero.

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Hi, Lexi. Welcome to A2K. I wish I could help you, but you did help me. I searched the web and came up with a very surprising discovery about Lincoln.

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I think this is a legend.

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Was Good Ol' Abe really gay; or just bi? Were J Edgar Hoover and long-time male Secretary having an affaire de coque? Was Hoover's friend Senator Joe McCarthy a closet-gay?

My question for King Dubya II is: does it matter?

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@Creed Of Kings,

I used this great example in one of my papers:

One day, while riding in a coach, Lincoln and a few passengers were debating …Is helping ever altruistic? Lincoln argued that helping always stems from self-interest, whereas the other passenger took the view that true altruism exists. Suddenly … [Lincoln ordered the coach to stop and he saved some drowning piglets.] When he returned, his companion said, ‘Now Abe, where does selfishness come in on this little episode?’ ‘Why, bless your soul, Ed,’ Lincoln relied. ‘That was the very essence of selfishness. I should have had no peace of mind all day had I gone on and left that suffering old sow worrying over those pigs. I did it to get peace of mind, don’t you see? (Aronson, 2005, p. 362).

It is from my Social Psychology textbook citation:
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Akert, R. M. (2005). Social Psychology. Saddle River NJ: Prentice Hall.

I am not sure if it is a true story or not but I think that Lincoln did hold this belief.

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Abraham Lincoln Experts: I have a question.

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