David Shoemaker Research Paper

There are four types of egoism (ETHICAL EGOISM). The first is Psychological egoism and it is the view that humans are always motivated by self-interest. An example of this is …….. The second is Ethical egoism. This is when you should do something that is in your own self-interest. An example of this is performing a task for someone because you are getting paid to do it. Third is Individual ethical egoism. It states that everyone should act in their own best self-interest. An example of this is a policeman. He/she believes that they should do what is in their best interest just because of their role in society. Finally there is Universal ethical egoism. It states that everyone should always act in their own best self-interest, regardless of the interests of others, unless their interests

- Ethical egoism: that theory asserts that the morally right action is the one that produce the most favorable balance of good over evil for one self. By taking that decision, she twill think about her first and save her life

In his essay he disagreed with Lincoln’s pig story and proved how Lincoln’s act should be counted as an altruistic act. In Lincoln’s tale, he saves a piglet and a passenger comments that it was very altruistic of him; however, Lincoln refuses and explains why even though he saved the piglet the act was still very selfish. He describes that his act should not be considered as altruistic because he helped the piglet so that he does not have to carry the burden of guilt and can have peace of mind. However, in the essay Feinberg contradicts Lincoln and explains why receiving pleasure in return of an act does not make the act a selfish act. In his essay he argues that “in the supposition that the apparently unselfish desire to benefit others is transformed into a selfish one by the fact that we derive pleasure from carrying it” (Psychological Egoism) is not true. Joel Feinberg explains that receiving pleasure after doing something good for someone else should be considered as byproduct or consequence as long as the intention was to do a good deed it should be considered as an altruistic

Philosophers have debated for centuries the question “Are humans are selfish or selfless?” There are two main arguments for debating human nature, ethical egoists and ethical altruists. Ethical egoists believe that “even though we can act in others’ interests because we are concerned for others, we ought always to act in our own interest” (Solomon et al 2012 p. 460). Ethical altruists believe quite the opposite; ethical altruism is the belief that “people ought to act with each other’s interests in mind” (Solomon et al 2012 p. 461). In discussing the four theories, psychological egoism, psychological altruism, ethical egoism, and ethical altruism, with my husband, there was not a clear dividing line for whether humans are selfish or selfless in nature. After much debate, we concluded that humans are born ethical egoists; however, ethical altruists are made through proper training, care, and nurture.

There are two basic kinds of egoism, there is ethical egoism and there is psychological egoism. These two different forms of egoism are different because ethical egoism is the normative ethical position that what is moral is to be done in self-interest. This is different from psychological egoism which states specifically that people will only act in their own self-interest. Ethical egoism is broken up into two forms. There is act egoism and Rule egoism. Act egoism says

“People act for many reasons; but for whom, or what, do or should they act—for themselves, for God, or for the good of the planet?” (Moseley) An egoist would argue that one acts for one’s own self. More specifically, an ethical egoist is one who thrives to improve ones own self being, with much respect to morality. Ethical Egoism is the theory that one should pursue his or her own interest above all the rest. It is the idea that all persons should act from their own self interest in relation to morality.

“Egoism is the normative idea that each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively” (Rachels 77). In other words, what makes one’s actions moral is if they are acting in their own self-interest only. It is the radical view that states that one’s only duty is to promote one’s own self-interest. This theory does not suggest that one should act in their own interest as well as others best interest, but, according to Rachels, there is only one principle to follow and that

Psychological Egoism is a descriptive claim that humans by nature are selfish and their actions are motivated by some kind of selfish desire (Kay, 1997) .

The characters of Jack and Judah in the film do resemble egoistic views. Jack holds the view of a psychological egoist while Judah holds the view of an ethical egoist. Jack believes that you need to do whatever it takes to be successful in this world. One can see this easily because of the business that he is in and as he encourages his brother, Judah, to take advantage of the opportunity he can provide. He suggests that murder is okay to Judah because it would benefit him. Clearly this is in the interest of him and only him. Jack does not see anything morally wrong with murder or the business he is in, he only sees the benefits he or his brother would receive. Judah throughout the movie is lost, confused, and struggling between views of life. He knows that murder is morally wrong however he encourages it anyways. The action of killing his mistress supports a psychological egoist view. It only benefits himself and concern for others is absent. However the guilt he feels afterwards means he knows it wasn’t a morally sound decision. Judah struggled to find his view on life. This movie is all about the struggle and is symbolic of the moral decisions that one are forced to make every day. This film portrays the decisions on a larger scale however one can relate to Judah‘s struggles. Where is the line drawn in our actions of helping out ourselves if it is at the expense of

Psychological egoism is the view that everyone always acts selfishly. It describes human nature as being wholly self-centered and self-motivated. Psychological egoism is different from ethical egoism in their “direction of fit” to the world. Psychological ego-ism is a factual theory. It aims to fit the world. In the world is not how psychological ego-ism says it is because someone acts unselfishly, then something is wrong with psycho-logical egoism. In my opinion this argument is completely wrong and unsound.

2. Egoism is the consequentialist theory that an action is right when it promotes the individual’s best interests. Proponents of this theory base their view on the alleged fact that human beings are, by nature, selfish (the doctrine of psychological egoism). Critics of egoism argue that (a) psychological egoism is

There is a certain innate desire to help others, just as others will feel that same fulfillment for returning that aid. At the same time, however, there is also an inherent yearning to seek out one’s own best interest. This brings about a discussion regarding the difference between psychological egoism and ethical egoism. To understand the similarities and differences, one must first understand the two concepts including their natures, as well as their doctrines of motivation.

Ethical egoism claims that all our actions can be reduced to self-interest. This is a controversial moral theory which sometimes can be detrimental. Without a well-defined framework of the nature of self-interest, ethical egoism enlarges the animalistic nature of humanity in which can result in unfavorable consequences. Ethical egoism also fails to provide a solution when a conflict of interest arises. By only acting out of one’s self

The theory of psychological egoism is indeed plausible. The meaning of plausible in the context of this paper refers to the validity or the conceivability of the theory in question, to explain the nature and motivation of human behavior (Hinman, 2007). Human actions are motivated by the satisfaction obtained after completing a task that they are involved in. For example, Mother Teresa was satisfied by her benevolent actions and activities that she spent her life doing. As Hinman (2007) points out, she was likely to reduce in activity if she experienced any dissatisfaction in her endeavors.

Descriptive egoism holds that for each individual, there is only one ultimate aim survival and the betterment of the sole individual based on their own hierarchical principles.