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Information about Ethical Egoism

This article is about the ethical theory. For other uses of the term, see Egoism.


Ethical egoism is the normative ethical position that moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-interest. It is important to distinguish this from psychological egoism, the claim that people can only act in their own interest. Psychological egoism is a claim about how people act, not a claim about how they ought to act. Ethical egoism is distinct from rational egoism (which holds that it is rational to act in one's self-interest) and individualism, neither of which posit that acting in one's self-interest is necessary to act in a morally right way.

Ethical egoism contrasts with ethical altruism, which holds that moral agents have an ethical obligation to help or serve others. Ethical egoism does not, however, require moral agents to disregard the well-being of others, nor does it require that a moral agent refrains from considering the well-being of others in moral deliberation. What is in an agent's self-interest may be incidentally detrimental to, beneficial to, or neutral in its effect on others. It allows for the possibility of either as long as what is chosen is efficacious in satisfying self-interest of the agent.

Ethical egoism is sometimes the philosophical basis for people's support of libertarianism or anarchism, political positions based partly on a belief that individuals should not coercively prevent others from exercising freedom of action.

Types of ethical egoism

Individual ethical egoism

An individual ethical egoist would hold that all people should do whatever benefits him.[1]

Universal ethical egoism

Universal ethical egoists argue that everyone should act in ways that are in their own interest.[2]

A philosophy holding that one should be honest, just, benevolent etc., because those virtues serve one's self-interest is egoistic; one holding that one should practice those virtues for reasons other than self-interest is not egoistic.

Proponents

Max Stirner was the first philosopher to call himself an egoist. Others, such as Thomas Hobbes and David Gauthier, have argued that the conflicts which arise when people each pursue their own ends can be resolved for the best of each individual only if they all voluntarily forgo some of their aims — that is, one's self-interest is often best pursued by allowing others to pursue their self-interest as well so that liberty is equal among individuals. Sacrificing one's short-term self-interest in order to maximize one's long-term self-interest is one form of "rational self-interest" which is the idea behind most philosophers' advocacy of ethical egoism. Noted egoist Ayn Rand contended that there was a harmony of interest among humans, so that a moral agent could not rationally harm another person.

As Nietzsche (in Beyond Good and Evil) and Alasdair MacIntyre (in After Virtue) are famous for pointing out, the ancient Greeks did not associate morality with altruism in the way that post-Christian Western civilization has done. Aristotle's view, for example, is that we have duties to ourselves as well as to other people (e.g. friends) and to the polis as a whole.

The term ethical egoism has been applied retroactively to philosophers such as Bernard de Mandeville and to many other materialists of his generation, although none of them declared themselves to be egoists. Note that materialism does not necessarily imply egoism, as indicated by Karl Marx, and the many other materialists who espoused forms of collectivist altruism.

Criticisms

Many contend that the view is implausible[3][4], and that those who advocate it seriously usually do so at the expense of redefining "self-interest" to include the interests of others[5]. Or, it may be argued that harming or enslaving others is what is one's best self-interest. An ethical egoist might counter this by asserting that furthering the ends of others is sometimes the best means of furthering one's own ends, or that simply by allowing liberty to others one's self-interest is resultantly furthered.

Ethical egoism has also been identified as the basis for immorality. For instance, Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to Thomas Law, in 1814:



Ethical egoism is opposed not only by secular altruist philosophies, but is also at odds with the majority of religions. Most religions hold that ethical egoism is the product of a lack of genuine spirituality and shows an individual's submersion in greed. Religious egoism is a derivative of egoism where the faith is used to validate one's self interest. [1]

See also

Footnotes

1. ^ Waller, Bruce, N. 2005. 'Egoism'. In Consider Ethics: Theory, Readings, and Contenporary Issues. New York: Pearson Longman: 81.
2. ^ Waller, Bruce, N. 2005. 'Egoism'. In Consider Ethics: Theory, Readings, and Contenporary Issues. New York: Pearson Longman: 83.
3. ^ "It seems to me this is just obviously wrong". Michael Huemer on the Objectivist in a hurry
4. ^ "For example, if it is in your best interest to obtain ten million dollars, and a practically risk-free opportunity to embezzle that much money arises, then on egoistic principles, where every ethical action is governed by what is best for the individual, it would seem that the ethical thing to do would be to embezzle. And this seems obviously wrong." Stephen Parrish's review of Viable Values by Tara Smith
5. ^ "But other [of Ayn Rand's intellectual heirs], such as David Kelley and Tibor Machan, see that there is at least something wrong with "egoism" as Rand construed it". wirkman Virkkala At the Altar of the Ego

References

  • Rachels, James, and Stuart Rachels. '5. Ethical Egoism'. In The Elements of Moral Philosophy. (5th Edition). New York: McGraw Hill: 68-88.
  • Rand, Ayn. 1964. The Virtue of Selfishness. Signet.
  • Rosenstand, Nina. 2000. 'Chapter 3: Myself or Others?'. In The Moral of the Story. (3rd Edition). Mountain View, Calif: Mayfield Publishing: 127-167.
  • Waller, Bruce, N. 2005. 'Egoism'. In Consider Ethics: Theory, Readings, and Contenporary Issues. New York: Pearson Longman: 79-83.

External links

Egoism may refer to any of the following:
  • psychological egoism - the doctrine that holds that individuals are always motivated by self-interest
  • ethical egoism - the ethical doctrine that holds that individuals ought to do what is in their self-interest

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Normative ethics is a branch of philosophical ethics concerned with classifying actions as right and wrong.

Normative ethics attempts to develop a set of rules governing human conduct, or a set of norms for action.
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Moral agency is a person's capacity for making moral judgments and taking actions that comport with morality.

Development and analysis

Most philosophers suggest that only rational beings, people who can reason and form self-interested judgments, are capable of being moral
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Self-interest can refer to any of the following concepts:
  • Egoism
  • Selfishness
  • Ethical egoism
  • Psychological egoism
  • Individualism
  • Objectivist ethics
  • Hedonism
  • Epicureanism
  • Enlightened self-interest
  • Indirect self-interest

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For other forms of egoism, see .
Psychological egoism is the view that humans are always motivated by rational self-interest, even in what seem to be acts of altruism.
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Rational egoism is the pursuit of one's own, accurately perceived, self-interest. The term may refer either to the philosophical view that it is always in accordance with reason to pursue self-interest (a view closely related to ethical egoism) or to the behavioral postulate that
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Rational may be:
  • pertaining to rationality
  • acting according to the philosophical principles of rationalism
  • a mathematical term for certain numbers; the rational numbers

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Libertarianism

Schools of thought
Agorism
Anarcho-capitalism
Geolibertarianism
Green libertarianism
Right-libertarianism
Left-libertarianism
Minarchism
Neolibertarianism
Paleolibertarianism
Progressive libertarianism


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Altruism is an ethical doctrine that holds that individuals have a moral obligation to help, serve, or benefit others, if necessary at the sacrifice of self interest. Auguste Comte's version of altruism calls for living for the sake of others.
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An obligation is a requirement to take some course of action. It can be legal or moral. There are also obligations in other normative contexts, such as obligations of etiquette, social obligations, and possibly the In terms of politics, obligations are requirements that are to
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Quality of Life is a 2004 drama film, telling the fictional story of two graffiti writers in the Mission District of San Francisco.
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Libertarianism

Schools of thought
Agorism
Anarcho-capitalism
Geolibertarianism
Green libertarianism
Right-libertarianism
Left-libertarianism
Minarchism
Neolibertarianism
Paleolibertarianism
Progressive libertarianism


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Anarchism (from Greek αναρχία , "without archons," "without rulers")[1] is a political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which reject compulsory government[2] and support its elimination,[3]
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Johann Kaspar Schmidt (October 25, 1806 – June 26, 1856), better known as Max Stirner (the nom de plume he adopted from a schoolyard nickname he had acquired as a child because of his high brow Stirn), was a German philosopher, who ranks as one of the literary
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Thomas Hobbes (5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, whose famous 1651 book Leviathan established the agenda for nearly all subsequent Western political philosophy.
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David Gauthier (born 1932) is a Canadian-American philosopher best known for his neo-Hobbesian social contract (contractarian) theory of morality, as laid out in his book Morals by Agreement.
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Objectivism

Overview
Objectivism
Principles
Metaphysics
Epistemology
Ethics
Politics
Aesthetics
Individuals
Ayn Rand
Nathaniel Branden
Alan Greenspan
Leonard Peikoff
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Ayn Rand

Born: 1905(1905--00)
St. Petersburg, Russia
Died: March 6 1982 (aged 77)
New York City
Occupation: novelist, philosopher, playwright, screenwriter
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Beyond Good and Evil

Cover of the Penguin edition.
Author Friedrich Nietzsche
Original title Jenseits von Gut und Böse. Vorspiel einer Philosophie der Zukunft
Translator R. J.
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Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre (born January 12, 1929 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a philosopher primarily known for his contribution to moral and political philosophy but known also for his work in history of philosophy and theology.
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After Virtue is a highly regarded book on moral philosophy by Alasdair MacIntyre. MacIntyre provides a bleak view of the state of modern moral discourse, regarding it as failing to be rational, and failing to admit to being irrational.
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The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. 750 BC[1] (the archaic period) to 146 BC (the Roman conquest). It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western Civilization.
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Morality (from the Latin moralitas "manner, character, proper behaviour") has three principal meanings. In its first descriptive usage, morality means a code of conduct held to be authoritative in matters of right and wrong,
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Western culture or Western civilization is a term used to generally refer to most of the cultures of European origin and most of their descendants. It comprises the broad, geographically based, heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs (such as religious
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Aristotle (Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.
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A 'polis' (πόλις, pronunciation pol'-is) plural: poleis (πόλεις) is a city, a city-state and also citizenship and body of citizens.
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Kenneth Mandeville, or Bernard de Mandeville (1670 – 1733), was a philosopher, political economist and satirist. Born in the New Jersey, he lived most of his life in England and used English for most of his published works.
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According to many followers of the theories of Karl Marx (or Marxists), dialectical materialism is the philosophical basis of Marxism. The name, which was never used by Marx himself, refers to the notion that Marxism is a synthesis of philosophical dialectics and
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materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions; that matter is the only substance.
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