Psychological Egoism in Plato's Republic and Other Literature

In Plato’s Republic and in Rachels' Egoism and Moral Scepticism, the authors attempt to combat psychological egoism, which is the ethical theory which asserts that all human motivation is ultimately self-interested. Each author rejects the possibility of this being a valid conclusion of philosophical ethics, and each instead offers an alternate solution to the origin of human motivation. Whether we are capable of acting out of non self-interested ways directly affects the implementation of ethics around the world. If psychological egoism is true, then ethical philosophy will only be useful when it is specifically beneficial for the individual rather than the collective society. I disagree with this ethical theory, because it is possible for one to act for the benefit of others and his or her own detriment. There are many example cases of an individual doing so and each of which undermines the core belief of psychological egoism: each individual acts solely for his or her own benefit. Instead, through taking pieces of psychological egoist theories I will be able to define a better, dynamic view of the origins of human desires.

In this essay, I aim to define the arguments behind the examples used in both Plato’s and Rachels' work that make a case against psychological egoism. I will also add elements to them with my own examples that uncover more faults found in psychological egoism. Finally I will respond to these claims from the view of someone practicing this very ethical doctrine, and then ultimately demonstrate that the responses given by the psychological egoist are flawed as well; in an effort to invalidate the moral practice. I will then be able to give my own synthesis of the nature of the relationship between desire a...

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... rebuttal. I demonstrated the flaws in the responses given by the psychological egoist to coincide with my effort to nullify the theory. I was then able to give my own posit on the nature of the relationship between desire and actions based on the information offered by psychological egoism. This synthesis must be subject to further investigation and analysis of great length and depth so that the variation of the roots of human desire be narrowed down to even more tangible results.

Works Cited

Plato. “The Ring of Gyges." The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature. 5th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2000. 497-503. Print.

Rachels, James (2009). Egoism and moral scepticism. In Steven M. Cahn (ed.), Exploring Ethics: An Introductory Anthology. Oxford University Press.

Alisa, Carse. Lecture hand-out 4, Psychological and Ethical Egoism, Jan. 27-9, 2014.