Module 4 - Ethical Egoism

The common arguments against Ethical Egoism include all BUT

Altruism is self-defeating.

Which of the following statements about Ethical Egoism is correct?

Each person ought to pursue their own interests exclusively.

According to ethical egoism one should always do what gives one the most pleasure.

False

Which of the following accurately describes the relationship between ethical egoism and psychological egoism?

If psychological egoism is true, this supports ethical egoism.

What would an ethical egoist say about a situation in which self-interest and morality conflict?

One should do what self-interest demands.

Psychological Egoism is a claim about human nature, not morality.

True

Psychological egoism is descriptive theory of human nature about how humans in fact do (must) behave (always exclusively in own interest).

True

The strategy of reinterpreting motives was illustrated by the Abraham Lincoln story.

True

According to ethical egoism one should always do what one wants to do.

False

Psychological Egoism argues that we ought to pursue our own self-interest but could choose to do otherwise.

False

We, as a people, regard our luxuries as more important than the plight of starving people.

False

Which of the following statements regarding Ayn Rand's philosophy is NOT correct?

If you want to help the poor, you should be stopped.

Which of the following was NOT used as an argument against Psychological Egoism?

In assessing whether an action is self-interested, the issue is not what kind of desire it is based on.

Commonsense morality argues that if you have an extra ten dollars, you should make a donation that will help the needy.

True

Ethical Egoism argues that the best way to promote everyone's interests is for each of us to adopt the policy of pursuing our own interests exclusively.

True

Ethical egoism is a normative theory about how people ought to behave (they should act in their own interest exclusively).

True

If psychological egoism is true, then Ethical Egoism is pointless, because we are already automatically acting correctly.

True

In the Prisoner's dilemma, your best choice to minimize the time spent in prison would be to confess.

True

The argument that the best way to promote everyone's interests is for each of us to adopt the policy of pursuing our own interests exclusively is an altruistic, not egoistic argument.

True

The reason we let people in other countries starve is because

We do not see them. We think of them abstractly as a statistic. They are scattered geographically. All of these