Ethical Egoism

IV. Ethical Egoism

The rough idea behind ethical egoism isthat the right thing to do is to look out for your own self-interest.Weare morally required only to make ourselves as happy as possible.Wehave no moral obligations to others. Ayn Rand seems to endorsethis idea in the following passages:

"By the grace of reality and the nature of life, man -- every man -- is an end in himself, he exists for his own sake, and the achievement of his own happiness is his highest moral purpose" (Pojman, p. 74).

"Accept the fact that the achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness -- not pain or mindless self-indulgence -- is the proof of your moral integrity ... " (Pojman, 77).

Let's make these rough thoughts more clear;let's formulate a criterion of moral rightness based on Rand'sideas.

A. Formulating Ethical Egoism(EEh)

- Alternative: the alternatives that some agent has atsome time are the actions that are open to the agent at that time;they are her "options"; two actions are alternativesto one another when an agent can do either one of them, but notboth of them.- Consequences: the consequences of a given act are thethings that would happen "as a result" of the act, ifit were performed. Note that some subsequent event is a consequenceof an act whether it is near in space and time or far away; whetherit is something that the agent of the act could reasonably anticipateor not; whether it involves the agent of the act or some distantstranger.

Our version of egoism is going to be a formof consequentialism. A normative theory is a formof consequentialism insofar as it implies that facts about theconsequences determine the normative status of acts.

(This leaves open just what it is aboutthe consequences that determine an act's normative status.Ourversion of egoism will say that it is the pleasure and painthat befall the agent of the act that are relevant.Sowe need to say a few words about pleasure and pain.)

Some assumptions about pleasure and pain:- they are feelings, or sensations- each episode of pleasure or pain has an intensity anda duration; these factors determine the amountofpleasure or pain in the episode- the hedon is the unit of measurement of pleasure; thenumber of hedons in an episode of pleasure is determined by theintensity and duration of the episode of pleasure- the dolor is the unit of measurement of pain; the numberof dolors in an episode of pleasure is determined by the intensityand duration of the episode of pain- Pleasures and pains are "commensurable"; thatis, if some pleasure contains the same number of hedons as somepain contains dolors, then we can say that there is an much pleasurein the episode of pleasure as there is pain in the episode ofpain.(This assumption will enable us to add and subtractpleasure and pains, like the assets and liabilities on an accountant'sbalance sheet.)

We can now define hedonic agent utilityas the total number of hedons of pleasure that the agent of theact would feel as a consequence of the act if it were performed,minus the total number of dolors of pain that the agent of theact would feel as a consequence of the act if it were performed.

In more rough terms, to the hedonic agentutility of some alternative is how good the alternative wouldbe for the agent, pleasure-pain-wise.

The last concept is that of maximizing:we say that an act maximizes hedonic agent utility whenno alternative to that act has a higher hedonic agent utilitythan it has.

Finally, we can state the theory, EEh (EthicalEgoism, of a hedonistic sort):

EEh: An act is morally right if and only if it maximizes hedonic agent utility.

So this theory is saying that an act isright when there is nothing else the agent could do on that occasionthat would lead to a consequence that would be better for himin terms of pleasure and pain.

B. Common Misconceptionsabout Egoism

1.Immediate Gratification

Egoism is not the doctrine that we shouldindulge in as much pleasure we can in the short run, without acare for what happens to us in the long run.And EEhdoes not imply this because, in order to calculate the hedonicagent utility of an action, you need to figure in all the pleasureand pains that would result, no matter how down the line in thefuture.

2.No Altruism

Egoism also does not imply that we shouldnever act altruistically. Rather, it implies that we may act forthe benefit of others so long as that act also maximizes our ownhedonic utility. (See Feldman p. 83 for further discussion.)

3.Psychological Egoism

EEh is a doctrine in ethics, a theory aboutwhat we morally ought to do. However, there is another doctrine-- a doctrine in psychology -- that sometimes goes by the nameof "egoism". This other doctrine, "PsychologicalEgoism," is a view about how human beings happen to be setup, psychologically speaking. It is not a view at all about whatwe morally ought to do. Psychological Egoism says that we humanbeings in fact always pursue our own well-being. That is, we alwayschoose the act that we think will be best for us. We are motivatedonly by the desire for pleasure and an aversion to pain.

C. Arguments for EEh

1.Closet Utilitarian Argument

The Closet Utilitarian Argument (from Feldman, p. 86)(1) If people act in such a way as to maximize their own self-interest,then humanity will be better off as a whole.(2) People ought to act in whatever way will lead to the bettermentof humanity as a whole.(3) Therefore, people ought to act in such a way as to maximizetheir own self-interest; in other words, egoism is true.

Criticism of premise (1):- Feldman's case of the selfish art lover (pp. 85-86).- The "Tragedy of the Commons";the "Prisoner'sDilemma"

Criticism of premise (2):- See Feldman, p. 87.

D. Arguments Against EEh

1.Moore's; Baier's; The Promulgation Argument

(see Feldman, Ch. 6)

2.Feldman's Refutation of EEh

Feldman's Refutation of EEh1. If EEh is true, then it is morally right for the man to stealthe money from the pension fund.2. It is not right for the man to steal the money from the pensionfund.3. Therefore, EEh is not true.

Imagine a treasurer of large pension fund.He is entrusted with keeping track of and investing the retirementsavings of all the workers at a company. He discovers, however,that it would be possible for him to steal all the money in thefund and get away with it, leaving all the workers who workedhard to save their money out of luck. Suppose he does this andsucceeds, escaping to a South Sea Island to live out the restof his days indulging in idle pleasure (at the expense of theworkers he screwed back home).

Egoism implies that the fact that this actionscrews over the workers back home is irrelevant. All that is relevantis whether this action is most in the interests of the treasurer.Well, to see exactly what EEh will have to say about this case,we should fill in the details. Here are the treasurer's alternatives:

Theman's alternativeshedonicagent utilitya1: steal themoney+10,000a2: leave themoney where it is-3

Let's say these are his two main alternativesat the time. EEh implies that it would be morally acceptable forthis guy to steal the money. Why? -- because this act maximizeshedonic agent utility.That is, if he were to performit, he would get a greater balance of pleasure over pain thanhe would get if he were to do any of his alternatives.

So we get premise 1:

1.If EEh is true, then it is morally right for the man to stealthe money from the pension fund.

But this is clearly not right. EEh is mistakenin this verdict. This act is cruel and selfish. It is utterlyimmoral. Most everyone, I take it, would be prepared to condemnthis man for his actions; and we would think it would be appropriateto punish for his ruthless deeds. So we get premise 2:

2.It is not right for the man to steal the money from the pensionfund.

From these two premises, this follows:

3.Therefore, EEh is not true.

This argument is valid: the conclusion followslogically from the premises. The first premise is clearly true.I also think the second premise is true. I think people behaveimmorally when they do this. Maybe Ayn Rand is willing to acceptthis consequence. I myself cannot.Can you?

View post:

Ethical Egoism - University of Colorado Boulder