Comparison Between Ethical Egoism And Ethical Egoism

1516 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Contrast Psychological Egoism and Ethical Egoism

In philosophy, egoism is the theory that one's self is, or should be, the motivation and the goal of one's own action. There are many different forms of egoism, for example, there is psychological egoism, ethical egoism, rational egoism and much more. All these different types of egoism differ in different types of ways but in of all of them it is implied that we are all self-interested and not interested in others.
Psychological egoism is a theory about the nature of what motivates us as humans to act for things. Psychological egoism suggests that all our behaviors in everyday life are motivated by selfishness. In other words, it suggests that every action or behavior or decision of every person is motivated by self-interest and not our need …show more content…

Psychological egocentrism states that people engage in interactions with other to satisfy their self-interest. In the example I used above the psychological egoist would be the one to share the resources to further improve their chances of survival that way. The ethical egoist would rather hog the supplies to improve his well-being. The different point of view both these types of egoisms share is pronounced very well. The psychological egotist would view the choice of helping the other human as part of helping themselves and their well-being. On the other hand, ethical egoist would have a view that shows that you prioritize yourself and only you even if it causes harm to others. This clearly states the only affair that matters to a person is their well-being. Psychological egoism is a theory based on years of researching individuals and seeing the choices they make to help their …show more content…

Jeremy Bentham believed that pleasure and pain are the only intrinsic values in the world. Utilitarianism didn’t really become popular until John Stuart Mills made it into a movement of sorts and really made it shine in the eyes of the people. One flaw of utilitarianism is that a person’s happiness can’t really be measured and compared to the happiness someone else’s happiness, vice versa with pain. Another view that people have on utilitarianism is that some individuals believe in determinism which is when someone believes that all our actions are predisposed and that we have no choice because destiny and fate already have it decided. If determinism is true, then we have no control of an outcome but if it is false then we have no effect on the outcome of certain actions. I believe that this theory makes sense and would therefore discredit utilitarianism and all that it stands for. Moving on, another thing that discredits utilitarianism is that all it cares about is the outcome but what about the motivations that go into the actions we do, if that doesn’t matter then why would do anything at

Show More
Related

  • A Discussion to Compare Moral Theories

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shaver, R. "Egoism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2010 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = . http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egoism/#2

    Read More

  • Essay On Ethical Egoist

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    The egoist believes in acting in such ways that will lead to what is in their long term best interest and that will ultimately benefit him in the long run. In saying this, doing what we always want to do can not relate to an egoist because what we always want to do may not be what is in our long term best interest. For example, one day you might want to drop out of school because it’s too much work. This act will most likely lead to being unemployed in the future, working a full-time job at a low pay, or feeling unfulfilled for the remainder of your life. Dropping out of school may be what you want to do; however, it is not in your best interest to do because it will not benefit you in the long run. An egoist would do the contrary, he would stay in school, knowing well that an education can serve as extremely beneficial to his long term best

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Ethical Egoism

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ethical egoism is a claim about what is morally good or bad, whereas psychological egoism is a claim about human psychology. Psychological egoism is a controversial claim as it implies that human beings are not capable of genuine altruism.

    Read More

  • The Moral of the Story in Friends Episode

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    In chapter four of the textbook titled The Moral of the Story we are encountered with theories of human nature, as well as a brief overview of an episode of Friends which deals with the complexity of the term psychological egoism. The issue in this episode is whether or not Joey can be proved wrong by Phoebe that all acts of kindness are not done to achieve personal gain, but rather that an act of kindness can be done simply to help another person while expecting nothing in return. Personally, I believe the theory to be fixed since there is a list of flaws that don’t allow this concept to stand alone on its own two feet. After reading the assigned chapter and comparing all the history and concepts behind this theory, I find it fair to say that this belief is not 100 percent accurate. In this essay I will explain the theory of psychological egoism and all its subparts as well as to why I support the opinion of altruism rather than egoism.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Ethics And Social Contract Theory

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ethical Egoism, allows each person to view his or her own life as being of ultimate value, taking the human individual seriously. This in return perceives Egoistic people as taking advantage of opportunities for gain and deemed unethical. This is where the transition comes into; to advance and become enlightened egoist. Enlightened egoist take into consideration the long term benefit while abiding by professional codes of ethics but never failing to make the gain for their sole

    Read More

  • Egoism And Ethical Egoism

    2219 Words  | 5 Pages

    • Once more, the ordinary science’ proves itself as the master of classification, inventing and defining the various categories of Egoism. Per example, psychological egoism, which defines doctrine that an individual is always motivated by self-interest, then rational egoism which unquestionably advocates acting in self-interest. Ethical egoism as diametrically opposite of ethical altruism which obliges a moral agent to assist the other first, even if sacrifices own interest. Also, ethical egoism differs from both rational and psychological egoism in ‘defending’ doctrine which considers all actions with contributive beneficial effects for an acting individual

    Read More

  • OMAM v TGG

    1363 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ego is a self-maximizing choice. Egotism is roughly defined as self-centeredness and conceit, especially represented in writing or conversation. Men showed a fair amount of narcissism in the early 1900’s, and this was represented in the writings from that time. Ego entails one person thinking that the world revolves around them, and that they should be the center of attention at all times. In the novels The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the authors portray the antagonists, Tom Buchanan and Curley, to be extraordinarily egotistic and domineering, which had a negative effect on the relationship the men had with their wives.

    Read More

  • Psychological and Ethical Egoism

    1876 Words  | 4 Pages

    Psychological egoism, a descriptive claim about human nature, states that humans by nature are motivated only by self-interest. To act in one's self-interest is to act mainly for one's own good and loving what is one's own (i.e. ego, body, family, house, belongings in general). It means to give one's own interests higher priority then others'. "It (psychological egoism) claims that we cannot do other than act from self-interest motivation, so that altruism-the theory that we can and should sometimes act in favor of others' interests-is simply invalid because it's impossible" (Pojman 85). According to psychological egoists, any act no matter how altruistic it might seem, is actually motivated by some selfish desire of the agent (i.e., desire for reward, avoidance of guilt, personal happiness).

    Read More

  • Hospers: Self-Interest And Selfishness

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    With the development of modern society, many people say that the society has become miserable, and people only care their own profit. The self-interest is becoming the object of attacking. Thereupon, when we mention self- interest, people always mix up the concept of self-interest with selfishness. As we all known, the idea of selfishness is, “Abusing others, exploiting others, using others for their own advantage – doing something to others.” (Hospers, 59) Selfish people have no ethics, morals and standards when they do anything. At the same time, what is self – interest? Self- interest can be defined as egoism, which means a person is, “looking out for your own welfare.” (Hospers, 39) The welfare people talk about is nothing more than

    Read More

  • Sigmund Freud

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    behavior theory is the Ego. The ego is the balance between the Id and the Superego.

    Read More

  • Rachel's Three Defense Of Ethical Egoism

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    1.) Rachels offers three defenses of Ethical Egoism, one being, That Altruism Is Self-Defeating. Altruism or selflessness is the principle or practice of concern or welfare of others. Rachels states that we are more self-aware of our own wants and needs, and that we imperfectly know the wants, needs, and desires of others; so in helping others, we would not be beneficial because we would end up doing more harm than good in the long run because we are not self-aware of our neighbor’s needs. Rachels also states that “looking out for others” is an invasion of others privacy. On the other hand, when Rachels states that altruism is self-defeating, he is also referring to making other people the object of ones “charity”, which can make people feel atrocious about themselves and also that they are not self-worthy to care for themselves.

    Read More

  • A Brief on Consequentialism

    1564 Words  | 4 Pages

    Egoism is the act of pursuing a particular course of action that is driven by 'sel...

    Read More

  • Jeremy Bentham : Father of Utilitarianism

    1451 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jeremy Bentham is widely regarded as the father of utilitarianism. He was born in 1748 into a family of lawyers and was himself, training to join the profession. During this process however, he became disillusioned by the state British law was in and set out to reform the system into a perfect one based on the ‘Greatest Happiness Principle,’ ‘the idea that pleasurable consequences are what qualify an action as being morally good’. Bentham observed that we are all governed by pain and pleasure; we all naturally aim to seek pleasure and avoid pain. He then decided that the best moral principle for governing our lives is one which uses this, the ‘Greatest Happiness Principle.’ This is that the amount of overall happiness or unhappiness that is caused by an action should determine whether an action is right or wrong. He stated,

    Read More

  • The Id, Ego, And Superego In Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    The ego is the most important part of the brain, and the ego is the center of what controls our actions and thoughts. This is vital to making some who they are, for better or worse. The ego by Freud standards is not the same as today 's standards. The ego is the epicenter of all actions, but it can be swayed by the other areas like the id and superego (Wilson 24).

    Read More

  • Critique Of Bentham's Quantitative Utilitarianism

    1762 Words  | 4 Pages

    Before the main discussion of the Bentham's utilitarianism gets underway, lets first establish what utilitarianism is. As stated in the introduction, utilitarianism is a teleological philosophy that is primarily concerned with the results of an action when determining the nature of that act. Utilitarianism operates primarily under the greater happiness principal, in other words, utilitarians believe that one should only act in such a way that the results of that act should produce the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest for the greatest number of people. It is due to this view that utilitarianism is often criticized for being too hedonistic because it places the moral value of an act only on how much that act effects happiness. The teleological nature of utilitarianism also can serve as a problem because it pays no attention to the intention an action and can make acts of an immoral nature justifiably right. I will use the example that a professor of mine used in which a man tries to snatch an old lady's purse and in his struggle to do so he pulls her out of the way of a speeding vehicle thus saving her life. This act, although it started with mischievous intent, ended with a life being saved and surely produced the greatest amount of happiness for the old lady. In the utilitarian eye this act is morally acceptab...

    Read More

More about Comparison Between Ethical Egoism And Ethical Egoism

Open Document