Egoism, Self-Interest, and Altruism

The Argument from Strict Psychological Egoism

~Ethical Egoism argument ~we all always seek to maximize or own self-interest ~if one cannot do an act, one had no obligation to do that act ~altruistic acts involve putting another's interests ahead of our own but contradicts psychological egoism and is impossible ~therefore, altruistic acts are never morally obligatory ~this argument Gatos to defend ethical egoism because it does not show that we are morally obligated to perform any acts whatsoever

Smith's Economic Argument

~Individual self-interest in a competitive marketplace produces a state of optimal goodness for society at large ~competition causes each individual to produce a better product and sell it at a lower price than competitors ~describes this benefit as the result of an "invisible hand" whicb magically directs the economy when we pursue our self-interest ~this argument is more of an argument for utilitarianism than ethical egoism (an a highest level it is utilitarianism but on a lower lever of day-to-day action, it is practical egoism)

The Argument from Self-Satisfaction

~Psychological Egoism argument ~says that everyone is an egoist because everyone always tries to do what will bring him/her satisfaction

The Argument from Self-Deception

~Psychological Egoism argument ~sometimes we are self-decieved about our motivation, but whenever we obercome self-deception and really look deep into our motivational schemes, we find an essential selfishness

The Paradox of Hedonism

~Psychological Egoism argument ~you will have more happiness if you stop trying to achieve happiness ~you will habe a higher probability of of attaining happiness if you aim at accomplishing worthy goals that eill indirectly bring you happiness ~suggests that psychological hedonism has severe problems

The Publicity Argument

~an egoist cannot publicly advertuse his egoistic project without harming that very project ~for something to be a moral theory, it seems necessary to publisize it... but it is not in the egoist's best self-interest to publisize them

Arguments Against Ethical Egoism

~by Brian Medlin ~ethical egoism cannot be true because it fails to meet a necessary condition of morality--being a guide to action ------------- ~moral principles must be universal and categorical ~I must universalize my egoist desire to come out on top over others ~but, I must also prescribe someone else's desire to come out on top over other individuals including me ~therefore, I have prescribed incompatible outcomes and have not provided a way of adjucating conflicts of desire. In effect, I have said nothing. -------- ~an argument against this argument is that we can seprarate our beliefs about ethical situations from our desires (ex: believe that in a sports game that the opposite team has the right to try and win but we still want our team to win)

The Arguement from Counterintuitive Consequences

~ethical egoism is an absolute moral system that not only permits egoistic behavior but also demands it; helping others at one's own expense is morally wrong

Ethical Egoism

~everyone OUGHT to always do those acts that will best serve his/her own best self-interest ~it is our moral obligation to do so and the rightness or wrongess of our conduct depends on us fulfilling our self-interest

Rand's Argument for the Virtue of Selfishness

~says that selfishness is a virtue and altruism is a vice ~says that the beneficiary of an action is the only criterion of moral value, so altruism is essentially suicide ~a person ought to profit from his own action ~we have a right to seek our own happiness and fullfillment regardless of its effect on others ------------------------------------- ~perfection of one's abilities in a state of happiness is the highest goal for humans ~the ethics of altruism prescri es that we sacrifice our interests and lives for the good of others ~therefore, the ethics of altruism is incompatible with the goal of happiness ~ethical egoism prescribes that we seek our own happiness exclusively, and as such it is consistent with the happiness goal ~therefore, ethical egoism is the correct moral theory ------------------------------------- ~Rand says that the duty to seek one's good is from the fact that organisms are directed to the maintenance of the organism's life and the highest valuenis self-preservation

Hobbes Argument from Predominant Psycholical Exam

~theory about that if we lived in a state of nature (no laws, no rules, etc.) that we would all act inour own self-interest and would therefore need an aggreed-upon moral code and a strong central government to enforce this code ~comes from the basic belief that people act egoistically in order to survive ~says that we predominantly elact out of self-interest,but not always, so altruistic acts are morally permissible

Friendship and the Paradox of Ethical Egoism

~to reach the goal of egoism one must give up egoism and become (to some extent) an altruist, the very antithesis if egoism ~ex: if having friendship or love is in our own self-interest, in order to be a friend one must be concerned with the other person, thus forming a paradox

Pychological Egoism

~we always do the act that we percieve to be in our own self-interest ~we have no choice but to be selfish and will not be pursuaded by other reasons ~claims to be a theory about human nature

The Problem of Future Generations

~with ethival egoism, there is no obligation to preserve scarce natural resources for future generations