Egoism Vs Altruism

Psychological egoism is the interpretation that humans are always inspired by self-interest, even in what seem to be acts of altruism. It claims that, when people choose to help others, they do so ultimately because of the personal benefits that they themselves expect to obtain, directly or indirectly, from doing so. Psychological egoism, which was widely recognized by psychologists and philosophers states that all human actions are motivated by selfish needs to benefit themselves. According to psychological egoists true altruism does not exist because the consequence of such an act leads to an increase in personal happiness. However, Joel Feinberg does not agree with that theory and in his essay he disagreed with the thesis that altruism

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.

In 1891, Voltairine de Cleyre wrote The Philosophy of Selfishness and Metaphysical Ethics, critiquing the selfish and egoistic mindset of society. This same mindset is critiqued by Mary Fisher in “A Whisper of AIDS”. She uses rationally emotional rhetoric in order to criticize this “self-ism” that exists in the world.

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

Both psychological egoism and the classical theory can be defended by the utilitarian argument. Utilitarianism maintains that any action or system is good if it results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people. A utilitarian would commence by looking at the total utility or the happiness generated by the compensation paid to executives. Now if paying executive compensation by way of stock options leads to misguiding skyrocketing of profits figures and causes financial loss to several shareholders of the company, the utilitarian will propose that the executives should not be compensated by way of stock options. Moral worth lies in contribution to the overall utility.

Which Teleological ethical theory, Utilitarianism or Egoism, is the most appropriate to use in everyday life? Why?

Eric Mack’s essay “In Defense of Individualism” provides a basic outlook of individualistic personalities and interactions that are prevalent throughout society. Mack gives definitions of different theories in individualism, breaking the encompassing thought

According to James Rachel, an author of “Elements of Moral Philosophy,” there two main arguments exist against psychological egoism.

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

On the other hand, ethical egoism is a theory that prescribes moral obligation, where all people should be motivated out of self interest (Rachels, 2003, p. 70). This means that every person ought to act in a way that is best for him/herself. Ethical egoism claims that it is moral for all of an individual’s actions to be based on self-interest, without concerning him/herself with the interests of others. In fact, this thought may be continued by stating that altruism is, therefore, personally hindering and even demeaning (Brink, 1997, p. 122). Hence, ethical egoism must consequently mean that actions taken in an individual’s self-interest are moral actions, and actions taken that are not self-beneficial to an individual are immoral and should, as a result, be avoided.

Two examples or branches of consequentialism are egoism and utilitarianism. The definition of utilitarianism is simply, doing the most good for the most people. The definition of egoism is the habit of valuing everything only in reference to one's personal interest; selfishness. Egoism is simply about you and you’re self-interest compared to utilitarianism is looking at others interests. There are pros and cons to each branch; however I personally think egoism is the better model. Both represent or contain an aspect of ethics but, egoism I believe is reflected or more related to the average person in everyday life.

Without a distinct framework, ethical egoism fails as a moral theory to assist moral decision making because it endorses the animalistic nature of humanity, fails to provide a viable solution to a conflict of interest, and is proved to be an evolutionary unstable moral strategy.

Therefore, no matter how much altruism theorists try to argue about the degree of inclination of an action towards non self-interest,

Normative egoism has the individual making claims about what should be done to do the "right" thing, rather than what one does

In comparison, each of these theories calls for a narrow-minded focus on one person, which does not leave room to practice humanity for all. By thinking only the self, there is not room for personal or cultural growth and necessary tolerance to advance societal cooperation. Ethical egoism is an inconsistent theory as it lacks the ability to be considered a “moral” theory because it is not applicable to ALL human beings. Therefore, Egoism lies in the underbelly of ethical theory for practioners find it necessary to carry on their unpopular belief in secret. Lying, deception and dishonesty is not tenant of any moral theory so Egoism is inconsistent.