Robert Cavalier Philosophy Department Carnegie Mellon

Part I History of Ethics

Preface: The Life of Socrates Section 1: Greek Moral Philosophy Section 2: Hellenistic and Roman Ethics Section 3: Early Christian Ethics Section 4: Modern Moral Philosophy Section 5: 20th Century Analytic Moral Philosophy

Part II Concepts and Problems

Preface: Meta-ethics, Normative Ethics and Applied Ethics Section 1: Ethical Relativism Section 2: Ethical Egoism Section 3: Utilitarian Theories Section 4: Deontological Theories Section 5: Virtue Ethics Section 6: Liberal Rights and Communitarian Theories Section 7: Ethics of Care Section 8: Case-based Moral Reasoning Section 9: Moral Pluralism

Part III Applied Ethics

Preface: The Field of Applied Ethics Section 1: The Topic of Euthanasia Multimedia Module: A Right to Die? The Dax Cowart Case Section 2: The Topic of Abortion Multimedia Module: The Issue of Abortion in America Postscript: Conflict Resolution

As a metaethical theory of motivation, psychological egoism asserts the descriptive claim that all of our actions can be reduced to self-interest: "Whenever people do something, it is only because they think something desirable for themselves will result from it." The claim is descriptive and thus open to counterexamples, and it is broad, stating a reductionistic thesis regarding all of our actions. (Contrast psychological egoism with the psychological state of sympathy, where 'the weal and woe of the other becomes the motive for our action'.)

It is interesting to note that while egoism rests on the principles of human psychology, a number of studies in the psychology of moral development seem to suggest that 'egoism' is in fact only a first stage in actual moral development.

See excerpts from the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on Egoism.

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Ethical Egoism - Carnegie Mellon University

Ethical egoism is the normative theory that the promotion of one's own good is in accordance with morality. In the strong version, it is held that it is always moral to promote one's own good, and it is never moral not to promote it. In the weak version, it is said that although it is always moral to promote one's own good, it is not necessarily never moral to not. That is, there may be conditions in which the avoidance of personal interest may be a moral action.

In an imaginary construction of a world inhabited by a single being, it is possible that the pursuit of morality is the same as the pursuit of self-interest in that what is good for the agent is the same as what is in the agent's interests. Arguably, there could never arise an occasion when the agent ought not to pursue self-interest in favor of another morality, unless he produces an alternative ethical system in which he ought to renounce his values in favor of an imaginary self, or, other entity such as the universe, or the agent's God. Opponents of ethical egoism may claim, however, that although it is possible for this Robinson Crusoe type creature to lament previous choices as not conducive to self-interest (enjoying the pleasures of swimming all day, and not spending necessary time producing food), the mistake is not a moral mistake but a mistake of identifying self-interest. Presumably this lonely creature will begin to comprehend the distinctions between short, and long-term interests, and, that short-term pains can be countered by long-term gains.

In addition, opponents argue that even in a world inhabited by a single being, duties would still apply; (Kantian) duties are those actions that reason dictates ought to be pursued regardless of any gain, or loss to self or others. Further, the deontologist asserts the application of yet another moral sphere which ought to be pursued, namely, that of impartial duties. The problem with complicating the creature's world with impartial duties, however, is in defining an impartial task in a purely subjective world. Impartiality, the ethical egoist may retort, could only exist where there are competing selves: otherwise, the attempt to be impartial in judging one's actions is a redundant exercise. (However, the Cartesian rationalist could retort that need not be so, that a sentient being should act rationally, and reason will disclose what are the proper actions he should follow.)

If we move away from the imaginary construct of a single being's world, ethical egoism comes under fire from more pertinent arguments. In complying with ethical egoism, the individual aims at her own greatest good. Ignoring a definition of the good for the present, it may justly be argued that pursuing one's own greatest good can conflict with another's pursuit, thus creating a situation of conflict. In a typical example, a young person may see his greatest good in murdering his rich uncle to inherit his millions. It is the rich uncle's greatest good to continue enjoying his money, as he sees fit. According to detractors, conflict is an inherent problem of ethical egoism, and the model seemingly does not possess a conflict resolution system. With the additional premise of living in society, ethical egoism has much to respond to: obviously there are situations when two people's greatest goods the subjectively perceived working of their own self-interest will conflict, and, a solution to such dilemmas is a necessary element of any theory attempting to provide an ethical system.

The ethical egoist contends that her theory, in fact, has resolutions to the conflict. The first resolution proceeds from a state of nature examination. If, in the wilderness, two people simultaneously come across the only source of drinkable water a potential dilemma arises if both make a simultaneous claim to it. With no recourse to arbitration they must either accept an equal share of the water, which would comply with rational egoism. (In other...

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Essay about Ethical Egoism - 1656 Words - StudyMode

Rational egoism (also called rational selfishness) is the principle that an action is rational if and only if it maximizes one's self-interest.[1] The view is a normative form of egoism. It is distinct from psychological egoism (according to which people are motivated only to act in their own self-interest) and ethical egoism (that moral agents ought only to do what is in their own self-interest).[2]

Rational egoism was embodied by Russian author Nikolay Chernyshevsky in the 1863 book What Is to Be Done?.[3] Chernyshevsky's standpoint was ultimately socialistic, and was criticised by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in the 1864 book Notes from Underground.[4][5]

English philosopher Henry Sidgwick discussed rational egoism in his book The Methods of Ethics, first published in 1872.[6] A method of ethics is "any rational procedure by which we determine what individual human beings 'ought' or what it is 'right' for them to do, or seek to realize by voluntary action".[7] Sidgwick considers three such procedures, namely, rational egoism, dogmatic intuitionism, and utilitarianism. Rational egoism is the view that, if rational, "an agent regards quantity of consequent pleasure and pain to himself alone important in choosing between alternatives of action; and seeks always the greatest attainable surplus of pleasure over pain".[8]

Sidgwick found it difficult to find any persuasive reason for preferring rational egoism over utilitarianism. Although utilitarianism can be provided with a rational basis and reconciled with the morality of common sense, rational egoism appears to be an equally plausible doctrine regarding what we have most reason to do. Thus we must "admit an ultimate and fundamental contradiction in our apparent intuitions of what is Reasonable in conduct; and from this admission it would seem to follow that the apparently intuitive operation of Practical Reason, manifested in these contradictory judgments, is after all illusory".[9]

Two objections to rational egoism are given by the English philosopher Derek Parfit, who discusses the theory at length in Reasons and Persons.[10] First, from the rational egoist point of view, it is rational to contribute to a pension scheme now, even though this is detrimental to one's present interests (which are to spend the money now). But it seems equally reasonable to maximize one's interests now, given that one's reasons are not only relative to him, but to him as he is now (and not his future self, who is argued to be a "different" person). Parfit also argues that since the connections between the present mental state and the mental state of one's future self may decrease, it is not plausible to claim that one should be indifferent between one's present and future self.

The author and philosopher Ayn Rand also discusses a theory that she called 'rational egoism'. She holds that it is both irrational and immoral to act against one's self-interest.[11] Thus, her view is a conjunction of both rational egoism (in the standard sense) and ethical egoism, because according to Objectivist philosophy, egoism cannot be properly justified without an epistemology based on reason:

Her book The Virtue of Selfishness (1964) explains the concept of rational egoism in depth. According to Rand, a rational man holds his own life as his highest value, rationality as his highest virtue, and his happiness as the final purpose of his life.

Conversely, Rand was sharply critical of the ethical doctrine of altruism:

Do not confuse altruism with kindness, good will or respect for the rights of others. These are not primaries, but consequences, which, in fact, altruism makes impossible. The irreducible primary of altruism, the basic absolute is self-sacrificewhich means self-immolation, self-abnegation, self-denial self-destructionwhich means the self as a standard of evil, the selfless as a standard of the good.

Do not hide behind such superficialities as whether you should or should not give a dime to a beggar. This is not the issue. The issue is whether you do or do not have the right to exist without giving him that dime. The issue is whether you must keep buying your life, dime by dime, from any beggar who might choose to approach you. The issue is whether the need of others is the first mortgage on your life and the moral purpose of your existence. The issue is whether man is to be regarded as a sacrificial animal. Any man of self-esteem will answer: No. Altruism says: Yes."[12]

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Rational egoism - Wikipedia

Egoism is a teleological theory of ethics that sets as its goal the benefit, pleasure, or greatest good of the oneself alone. It is contrasted with altruism, which is not strictly self-interested, but includes in its goal the interests of others as well. There are at least three different ways in which the theory of egoism can be presented:

Psychological Egoism This is the claim that humans by nature are motivated only by self-interest . Any act, no matter how altruistic it might seem, is actually motivated by some selfish desire of the agent (e.g., desire for reward, avoidance of guilt, personal happiness). This is a descriptive claim about human nature. Since the claim is universalall acts are motivated by self interestit could be proven false by a single counterexample.

It will be difficult to find an action that the psychological egoist will acknowledge as purely altruistic, however. There is almost always some benefit to ourselves in any action we choose. For example, if I helped my friend out of trouble, I may feel happy afterwards. But is that happiness the motive for my action or just a result of my action? The psychological egoist must demonstrate that the beneficial consequences of an action are actually the motivation of of all of our actions. But why would it make me happy to see my friend out of trouble if I didn't already care about my friend's best interest? Wouldn't that be altruism?

Ethical Egoism This is the claim that individuals should always to act in their own best interest. It is a normative claim. If ethical egoism is true, that appears to imply that psychological egoism is false: there would be no point to saying that we ought to do what we must do by nature.

But if altruism is possible, why should it be avoided? Some writers suggest we all should focus our resources on satisfying our own interests, rather than those of others. Society will then be more efficient and this will better serve the interests of all. By referring to the interests of all, however, this approach reveals itself to be a version of utilitarianism, and not genuine egoism. It is merely a theory about how best to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number.

An alternative formulation of ethical egoism states that I ought to act in my own self-interesteven if this conflicts with the values and interests of otherssimply because that is what I value most. It is not clear how an altruist could argue with such an individualistic ethical egoist, but it is also not clear that such an egoist should choose to argue with the altruist. Since the individualistic egoist believes that whatever serves his own interests is (morally) right, he will want everyone else to be altruistic. Otherwise they would not serve the egoist's interests! It seems that anyone who truly believed in individualistic ethical egoism could not promote the theory without inconsistency. Indeed, the self-interest of the egoist is best served by publicly claiming to be an altruist and thereby keeping everyone's good favor.

Minimalist Egoism When working with certain economic or sociological models, we may frequently assume that people will act in such a way as to promote their own interests. This is not a normative claim and usually not even a descriptive claim. Instead it is a minimalist assumption used for certain calculations. If we assume only self-interest on the part of all agents, we can determine certain extreme-case (e.g., maximin) outcomes for the model. Implicit in this assumption, although not always stated, is the idea that altruistic behavior on the part of the agents, although not presupposed, would yield outcomes at least as good and probably better.

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Dr. Charles Kay Egoism - Wofford College

Abstract: Psychological egoism, the view that people act solely in their own interest, is defined and shown not to be a meaningful ethical philosophy.

I. The distinction between psychological egoism and ethical egoism reflects the contrast of "is" verses "ought," "fact" verses "value," or "descriptive" verses "prescriptive."

II. By way of clarification of relevant terms, James Rachels, among others, points out common confusion concerning selfishness and self-interest.

III. The Refutation of Psychological Egoism: arguments to the conclusion that the generalization everyone acts from the motive of self-interest is false.

IV.Interestingly enough, the same objections can be raised against the view termed, "psychological altruism": all persons act from the motive of helping others, and all actions are done from other-regarding motives. (Psychological altruism is a view advanced only from the position of a "devil's advocate.")

V. As a final note, it should be mentioned that psychological egoism can't be saved by psychoanalytic theory. I.e., Freud's notion of the unconscious raises the possibility that we have unconscious desires and can act against our conscious inclinations. If it is argued that we always unconsciously seek our self-interest, then this view is untestable and circular as well.

Consider the following passage from Freud's Interpretations of Dreams*:

"A contradiction to my theory of dream produced by another of my women patients (the cleverest of all my dreamers) was resolved more simply, but upon the same pattern: namely that the nonfulfillment of one wish meant the fulfillment of another. One day I had been explaining to her that dreams are fulfillments of wishes. Next day she brought me a dream in which she was traveling down with her mother-in-law to the place in the country where they were to spend their holidays together. Now I knew that she had violently rebelled against the idea of spending the summer near her mother-in-law and that a few days earlier she had successfully avoided the propinquity she dreaded by engaging rooms in a far distant resort. And now her dream had undone the solution she had wished for; was not this the sharpest contradiction of my theory that in dreams wishes are fulfilled? No doubt; and it was only necessary to follow the dreams logical consequence in order to arrive at its interpretation. The dream showed that I was wrong. Thus it was her wish that I might be wrong, and her dream showed that wish fulfilled (italics original)"

*Sigmund Freud, The Interpretations of Dreams (New York: Avon, 1966), 185.

Recommended Sources

"We Are Not Always Selfish": (this site) A classic discussion of the many facets of ethical egoism in notes on James Rachel's work.

Altruism "in-built" in humans: BBC report of discovery of altruistic behavior in infants summarized from the journal Science.

"Studies Show Chimps to Be Collaborative.": A summary of an article from Science News describing research indicating that chimpanzees cooperate without the expectation of reward.

"Egoism": Explanation of egoism and altruism with a brief summary of refutations and defenses excerpted from Richard Kraut's "Egoism" in the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Ethical Egoism: (this site) The various forms of ethical egoism are defined. Standard objections to ethical egoism are evaluated, and the conclusion is drawn that ethical egoism is incomplete.

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Psychological Egoism - Philosophy Home Page

Psychological Egoism

Definition. Individuals naturally act in their own interest; i.e., act to increase their own good or benefit.

Some of the Strongest Arguments in Favor

1. Many examples of such behavior, a known, sufficient, representative number of cases to allow induction.

2. Explanations of counter-examples as actually instances of egoism. A person desires some kind of good or benefit whether fame, being well-liked, or eternal life. Even someone who gives away most of their money to charity anonymously gets a sense of satisfaction---even if there is no other reward. Even a soldier who jumps on a grenade to save the lives of her buddies is actually doing action for own good or benefit.

Some of the Strongest Arguments Against Psychological Egoism:

1. Counter-examples of altruism, especially if these are "natural" impulses. (E.g., Mencius passerby who rescues a child from falling into a well.) Note: One does not have to demonstrate that persons always act altruistically--only that this has happened at least once.

2. Responses to psychological egoist claims that any counter-example is actually an example of egoism:

a) Is satisfaction or a good feeling the same as self-interest?

b) A person can have multiple motives, only one of which is self-interest. Often altruism and egoism co-exist and are compatible.

c) Whatever counter-examples opponents offer, psychological. egoists will always explain them as boiling down to self-interest. Therefore, psychological. egoism is an A priori premise, a closed argument, not an empirically demonstrable thesis.

3. Free will/determinism.

For more detailed arguments see article on "Egoism" in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egoism/ , the article in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy at http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/egoism.htm ,, and on e-reserve Tom L. Beauchamp, Philosophical Ethics: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy, 56-66.

Ethical egoism.

Definition. Individuals ought to act in their own interest; i.e., act to increase their own good or benefit. They have a choice. They should choose to act in their own interest.

Some of the Strongest Arguments in Favor.

a. Each person most knowledgeable judge.

b. Adam Smiths "Invisible Hand" type of argument (called "conditional egoism" in the IEP web reading listed below.)

c. To criticisms of egoism as causing unacceptable harm to others: replies that caring for others and cooperation are actually in each individuals long run best interest.

Some of the Strongest Arguments Against.

a. Universalism: Should everyone be an ethical egoist? Related to b.

b. Conflict of Interests - no way to resolve

c. Actually, in many cases an argument for utilitarianism as with Smith.

d. Humans have a social character that ethical egoism may cause them to seek to buck. .

For more detailed arguments see the article in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy online at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egoism/the article in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy at http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/egoism.htm , and on e-reserve Tom L. Beauchamp, Philosophical Ethics: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy, 56-66.

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Psychological Egoism - University of Idaho