Ethical Egoism: A Critique and Defense of Altruism

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Life is not a contest between each and every person, but a test. Just because someone believes that always making a decision that is in the best interest of themselves is right doesn’t mean that they are out to make the decision that worsens others around them. Personal ethical egoism is the idea that people should act in the best interest of themselves. I believe in altruism and that ethical egoism is an unacceptable theory because it’s proven to be inconsistent and incoherent. Every ethical theory suggests certain action that someone ought to do. Whether it be the interest in other or in the interest of one's self. It’s the case that people never do something that they don’t want to do, but is that really bad? What can make an act selfish is not that you’d like do the act, what act you want to do. For example, if I want to help a homeless person buy food, my act is not selfish, even though I do something that I wanted to do out of my own desire. Although if I trick my younger siblings into giving the biggest cookie in the jar, then my act is selfish, not because it’s something I wanted to do but because it’s an act that serves meself at another's …show more content…

If I were to agree to help my friend with their homework after they help we with mine, how do they know that I will still help them with their homework after my homework is done? If they have a egoistic mindset, they will believe that I will leave and not help them with their homework after they have fulfilled my best interest. So, it is to their disinterest to help me with my homework. To dissipate then the unreasonable war between friends, egoists agree that there needs to be an external source that makes sure I keep my promise or agreement and so does my friend. An egoist can agree that laws and rules were made out of the the theory of ethical egoism. People act on self interest and in return, there are rules

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