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:
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. (Why would it make me happy to see my friend out of trouble if I didnt already care about my friends best interest? Wouldnt that be altruism?)
This is the claim that individuals should always 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 arguing 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 always to act in my own self-interesteven if this conflicts with the values and interests of otherssimply because that is what I desire most. It is not clear how an altruist could find common ground to argue with such an individualistic ethical egoist, but it is also not clear why such an egoist would ever want to argue against 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 egoists own interests! It seems that anyone who truly believed in individualistic ethical egoism could not publicly promote the theory without such inconsistency. Indeed, the self-interest of the egoist is best served by publicly claiming to be an altruist and thereby keeping everyones good favor.
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.
Read more:
- Psychological Egoism - Philosophy Home Page - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Psychological Egoism - University of Idaho - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Dr. Charles Kay Egoism - Wofford College - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Rational egoism - Wikipedia - December 10th, 2016 [December 10th, 2016]
- Essay about Ethical Egoism - 1656 Words - StudyMode - December 26th, 2016 [December 26th, 2016]
- Ethical Egoism - Carnegie Mellon University - December 26th, 2016 [December 26th, 2016]
- Consequentialism - Wikipedia - December 26th, 2016 [December 26th, 2016]
- Ethical Egoism - Education - December 26th, 2016 [December 26th, 2016]
- More than a game: ND Ethics Week examines sports and the common good - ND Newswire - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- THE BACKSTORY: How Trump got to yes on Gorusch -- PLAYBOOK EXCLUSIVE: PETRAEUS warns US ... - Politico - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Lecture series explores ethics in sports industry - Observer Online - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Ethical Egoism | Psychological Egoism - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Psychological Egoism and Ethical Egoism - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- The Weakness and wickedness of Kiir's Administration: South Sudan in political and ethnic crisis - Borglobe - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Human Nature, Morality, & Salvation Jewish Theology Pt. IV - Patheos (blog) - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Rebel Crossings by Sheila Rowbotham review feminist utopian dreams - The Guardian - February 25th, 2017 [February 25th, 2017]
- A Jewish Social Vision Jewish Theology, Pt. VI - Patheos (blog) - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- Reinhold Niebuhr and our common good - Bowling Green Daily News - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- Why Is It Difficult to Live Together in Differences? (A Reflection) - Netralnews - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Free ethical relativism Essays and Papers - 123helpme - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- 'Wounded but not dead' Cassola says AD right in not joining PN - MaltaToday - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Egoism - New World Encyclopedia - June 21st, 2017 [June 21st, 2017]
- Mailbag: The limits of ethical egoism - Albany Democrat Herald - June 23rd, 2017 [June 23rd, 2017]
- Orwell vs Huxley vs Zamyatin: Who would win a dystopian fiction contest? - Scroll.in - June 24th, 2017 [June 24th, 2017]
- IDF Medics to Learn Groundbreaking Trauma Procedure - Breaking Israel News - July 16th, 2017 [July 16th, 2017]
- The Courage to Face a Lifetime: On the Enduring Value of Ayn Rand's Philosophy - IAI News - July 27th, 2017 [July 27th, 2017]
- On Albert Einstein's peaceful musings - The Livingston County News - July 29th, 2017 [July 29th, 2017]
- Psychological Egoism | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- The Differences Between Utilitarianism & Ethical Egoism ... - February 9th, 2018 [February 9th, 2018]
- Egoism | Learning to Give - February 13th, 2018 [February 13th, 2018]
- Selfless Good Deeds? Psychological vs. Ethical Egoism ... - March 17th, 2018 [March 17th, 2018]
- Ethical Egoism - University of Colorado Boulder - April 8th, 2018 [April 8th, 2018]
- Ethics - Wikipedia - April 24th, 2018 [April 24th, 2018]
- Difference Between Psychological and Ethical Egoism ... - May 18th, 2018 [May 18th, 2018]
- Ethical Egoism - Seven Pillars Institute - May 23rd, 2018 [May 23rd, 2018]
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of ethical egoism? - June 21st, 2018 [June 21st, 2018]
- Ethics | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - July 22nd, 2018 [July 22nd, 2018]
- Egoism: Examples and Definition | Philosophy Terms - July 22nd, 2018 [July 22nd, 2018]
- Ethical Theories Summarized & Explained: Consequentialism ... - July 22nd, 2018 [July 22nd, 2018]
- Ethical Egoism Essay - 1537 Words | Bartleby - December 27th, 2018 [December 27th, 2018]
- Egoism | philosophy | Britannica.com - December 27th, 2018 [December 27th, 2018]
- The Differences Between Utilitarianism & Ethical Egoism - December 27th, 2018 [December 27th, 2018]
- Ethical Egoism, Essay Sample - essaybasics.com - December 27th, 2018 [December 27th, 2018]
- Ethical Egoism Essay - 1596 Words - studymode.com - December 27th, 2018 [December 27th, 2018]
- Ethical egoism - RationalWiki - January 1st, 2019 [January 1st, 2019]
- Ethics: Ethical Egoism and Utilitarianism - Bartleby.com - January 10th, 2019 [January 10th, 2019]
- Psychological Egoism vs Ethical Egoism | Flow Psychology - February 6th, 2019 [February 6th, 2019]
- A Framework for Making Ethical Decisions | Science and ... - February 16th, 2019 [February 16th, 2019]
- Psychological egoism - Wikipedia - February 16th, 2019 [February 16th, 2019]
- The Triumph of Preposterousness - Fair Observer - November 25th, 2019 [November 25th, 2019]
- Dostoyevsky Misprisioned: The House of the Dead and American Prison Literature - lareviewofbooks - December 27th, 2019 [December 27th, 2019]
- The '7 Social Sins' as a Warning and Way Onto a Path Toward Equality and Liberation - The Good Men Project - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- Crimes and Misdemeanors | Issue 139 - Philosophy Now - August 3rd, 2020 [August 3rd, 2020]
- Here are the 7 social sins that Trump supporters can't stop committing - LGBTQ Nation - August 6th, 2020 [August 6th, 2020]
- Egoism | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- 15 Important Pros and Cons of Ethical Egoism ConnectUS - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- Ethical Egoism Theory Explained - HRF - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- Egoism | philosophy | Britannica - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- What Is Ethical Egoism? - ThoughtCo - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- Ethical egoism - Wikipedia - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- Ethics and the virus: 'nothing spoils mighty craic like ethics' - RTE.ie - October 3rd, 2020 [October 3rd, 2020]
- 42nd Anniversary of JPII's Election: The Civilization of Love is the Way of the Church - National Catholic Register - October 19th, 2020 [October 19th, 2020]
- Book Review: Philanthropy - Can the rich save the world? - Independent Catholic News - January 5th, 2021 [January 5th, 2021]
- 10 Denim Industry Experts on the Highs, Lows and Predictions for 2022 - Sourcing Journal - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Rishihood University Forms a Knowledge Society with the launch of the New Research Cell | India Education - India Education Diary - August 5th, 2022 [August 5th, 2022]