Rachel's Three Defense Of Ethical Egoism

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. Ayn Rand’s Argument states that everyone only has one life and if we value that person, their life should be cherished because it is all one has. Rand also states that altruism is a destructive idea and it does not consider the value of an individual; one’s life can just

Baier argues that Ethical Egoism cannot be correct and that it leads to contradictions, such as, that an action could both be wrong and not wrong at the same time. Rachels points out that when you actually lay out what Baier is stating, Baier has put his own assumption into the mix, why he thinks Ethical Egoism cannot be correct. Baier stated, “But it is wrong to prevent someone from doing his duty.” (Baier, p.76) This is Baier own assumption. Ethical Egoism would not say that it is always wrong to prevent someone from doing his duty, rather it would state, if it would be to one’s own best advantage to prevent someone from doing his duty, than do so. For these reasons Rachels states that Baiers argument that Ethical Egoism is logically inconsistent