Ch. 5

Self satisfaction, or desire to help, what comes first?

With Egoism self satisfaction comes first

According to egoism Is altruism a denial of the "Value of the Individual"

Yes, when aiding someone it says to them that they must sacrifice their dignity to accept aide from others

What is ethical egoism?

each person ought to pursue their own self-interest exclusively

According to egoism how do we know what makes an act right? Benefit to others or benefit to you?

An act is right if it benefits me

Psychological egoism is a theory about: A) how we act, hence it is part of descriptive theory about human nature; B) how we ought to act; hence it is part of normative ethics.

A) how we act, hence it is part of descriptive theory about human nature

Ethical Egoism may have some commonality with the economic man hypothesis, where the economic man is an "a-moral" rationalist and self- interested agent. It is also consistent with a form of Darwinian theory, which suggests a survival of the fittest mentality and which would mean that individuals make decisions to benefit themselves over others.

Statement? Or T/F?

The main thesis of psychological egoism

everyone always acts in his or her own self-interest; human beings are not capable of being unselfish.

The positive and negative consequences of the act for the agent, the short and long-term consequences of the act for the agent, and the positive and negative consequences for others, are factors ethically relevant when we evaluate an act (A) from the perspective of common sense morality, (B) from the perspective of ethical egoism.

(A) from the perspective of common sense morality

There is a powerful insight about ethical egoism: Perhaps individuals and society would be better off if individuals took more care of themselves (love themselves more)

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Do we always do what we most want to do or do we sometimes do what we ought to

According to egoism we do what we must want to do and if it seems like we do what we ought to in the end it is really what we want to do the must

Three Arguments for Ethical Egoism

Altruism is self defeating argument: If we try to help others we might end up doing more harm then good, helping can be an offensive intrusion, making others the object of your charity is degrading to them (they cease being self reliant and become passively dependent on others) Ayn Rands Argument: Altruism leads to a denial of the value of the individual Ethical Egoism as Compatible with Commonsense Morality: Ethical egoism tries to explain and systematize commonsense morality

Three Arguments against Ethical Egoism

Ethical Egoism endorses wickedness argument: If it is in my best interest to shot someone then ethical egoism is supporting this evil Ethical Egoism is logically inconsistent argument: It is wrong to prevent someone from doing their duty even if it is not in your best interest. The response to this is that one ought to prevent someone from doing their duty depends entirely on if it would be to your advantage to do so Ethical egoism is unacceptably arbitrary argument: It divides the world into two: you and everyone else therefore it doesn't follow the principle of equal treatment

T or F: Ethical egoism differs from "rational egoism" (which holds that it is rational to act in one's self-interest), and "individualism" (which holds that one must promote the exercise of one's goals and desires over the societal, or national goals) neither of which claim that acting in one's self-interest is necessarily right.

False they all claim acting in self interest is the right thing to do

T or F: The logic behind ethical egoism is that we ought to do whatever will best promote everyone interests; the best way to promote everyone's interests is for each of us to adopt the policy of pursuing our own interests exclusively; therefore, each of us should adopt the policy of pursuing our own interests exclusively

False, ethical egoism is about promoting self interest only

Common Sense Morality in regards to help yourself vs. help others?

Others, We have a duty to others because they can be helped or harmed by what we do

What is Psychological Egoism?

This theory asserts that people do in fact pursue their own self-interests exclusively; altruism is impossible

T or F: Ethical egoism does not require moral agents to disregard the well being of others, nor does it require that a moral agent refrain 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.

True

T or F: The arguments against altruism (that it is self-defeating, deprives people of self-respect, is an offensive intrusion in their problems) does not prove E.E. to be correct. In fact, it endorse a consequentialist approach to ethics, where the relevant test to run is based on a principle of beneficence: What is the best way to help everyone?/ best way of achieving the goal of promoting the welfare of everyone?

True

T or F: E.E. may be compatible with Common sense morality. As a revisionist moral philosophy, E.E. may be used to explain why we are moral and how there is a fundamental principle of self interest from which unfolds the moral duties commonly sustained, like the duty not to harm, not to lie, keep our promises. etc.

True, by following common sense morality we improve our own life. By not lying we gain trust raising our status versus by lying to get ahead in the end we are discovered and lose credibility

T or F: When evaluating actions in order to determine if they are self-interested or not, the relevant question is not if they are based on desires, but in what kind of desire they are based on.

True, example is the desire to help others

T or F: In assessing the flaws of Psychological Egoism, Rachels argues that once self-interest becomes the controlling assumption in evaluating past behaviors, everything that we do can be interpreted to fit this assumption. This only shows that it is possible to interpret motives as egoistic (feeling good about yourself, avoiding a guilty conscience, wanting to do the right thing) but it does not prove psychological egoism is correct.

True, while you may do things to feel good about yourself it doesn't have to be solely for your benefit

What is Commonsense Morality?

We have duties to others simply because they are people who could be helped or harmed by what we do

Is there a difference between acting on your desire vs. acting on what type of desire?

Yes, acting on your own desire is self interested but if the desire to help others then it is altruistic

According to egoism is altruism self- defeating?

Yes, if we want to do what is best for people then we should look after ourselves and they do them same

The main thesis of ethical egoism

everyone ought to act in his or her own self-interest.

What is ethical egoism as revisionist?

explains why we are moral and how there is a fundamental principle of self interest from which unfolds the moral duties commonly sustained, like the duty not to harm, not to lie, keep our promises. etc.

Ethical Egoism claims that there is one ultimate principle from which one ought to act exclusively

the principle of self-interest; the idea that each one of us has a privilege and knows what is best for us. Each one of us is uniquely placed to know and pursue this wants and needs effectively.

Psychological Egoism

the strategy of reinterpreting motives