Ethical Egoism And Inadepuate Moral Theory Similar

Psychological egoism is a theory that suggests that humans are always motivated by self-interest, even in what seem to be acts of altruism. The theory claims that, when people choose to help others, they do so ultimately because of the personal benefits that they themselves stand to gain, directly or indirectly, from doing so. Psychological egoism is a non-normative or descriptive theory in that it only makes claims about how things are and not how they ought to be. The theory is, however, related to several other normative forms of egoism, such as ethical egoism and rational egoism. The following essay seeks to determine the practicality of psychological egoism as a

- 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

Believing in ethical egoism means that you’re classifying all humans in two groups; you and the rest of the world. You believe your values are better and are right compared to other people’s values. If you think your duty is to do what is best for yourself, and you do not care about others only if they benefit you, it can lead to many problems. You can use the example of a 60-year-old man shooting his letter carrier seven times because he was $90,000 in debt and thought that being in prison would be better than being homeless. This guy in making the decision to kill the letter carrier was thinking about himself. He was not thinking about the letter carrier, his family, etc. If you believe in ethical egoism, you would conclude that it was normal for the 60-year-old guy to do and you have to accept his

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.

David Shoemaker provides two theories of egoism in the text--psychological theory and ethical theory. Psychological egoism is the claim that all actions are done solely for the sake of one’s own self-interest. Ethical egoism simply states that all actions ought to be done for the sake of one’s own self interests. Shoemaker elaborates stating ethical egoism is the more attractive theory.

Egoism can be divided into two categories: psychological egoism and ethical egoism. Thomas Hobbes promoted psychological egoism, which is the idea that all actions can be interpreted as selfishly motivated (Banks, 2013). Hobbes provided the example that pity can be interpreted as egotistical in the sense that people pity others because they are reminded that the same thing may happen to them (Banks, 2013). Psychological egoism theorizes the ways in which people actually behave, but on the other hand, ethical egoism theorizes the ways people ought to behave (Banks, 2013). Ethical egoism suggests that people have no obligation other than to do what is best for them (Banks, 2013). Ethical egoism is different from Deontology because, first, egoism allows people to be treated as a means to an end if the act promotes self-interest and, second, egoism gives wants and desires priority over helping

Another philosophical theory is egoism that states that since people live from their minds which is independents therefore they should act in their own self-interest. There are two kinds physiological that says that people should do what they want and ethical suggest that they do things in self-interest.

     The descriptive claim made by Psychological Egoists is that humans, by nature, are motivated only by self-interest. Any act, no matter how altruistic it may seem on the outside is actually only a disguise for a selfish desire such as recognition, avoiding guilt, reward or sense of personal ‘goodness’ or morality. For example, Mother Teresa is just using the poor for her own long-term spiritual gain. Being a universal claim, it could falter with a single counterexample. And being that I believe this claim to be bunk I will tell you why!

“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.

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.

However, in the case of ethical egoism, it advocates that all men ought to act from their self-interest but does not clearly state the nature of the ‘self-interest’. For all we know, when one acts out of his/her self-interest, it can very well be something that is morally incorrect. Does the theory still hold when a rapist raped a girl and think it is in his best interest to kill the girl so he won’t get caught? On a certain level, ethical egoism does not only fail to take into account the nature of ‘self-interest’ but also endorse wrong-doings and mischievousness. In Haidt’s The Felicity of Virtue, the author claims that philosophers like Plato and Kant believe that human beings have a dual nature: part animal and part rational. The animal part follows the law of nature where there is “no morality” and only causality whereas the rational part “respect rules of conduct, and so people can be judged morally for the degree to which they respect the right rules” (Haidt, 162). This animal nature illustrates exactly how ethical egoism can endorse selfishness because ethical egoism resides on the animalistic human nature and does not recommend the rational part of human beings. Without a solid ground for moral basis and taking account into rational nature of morality, ethical theory fails to constitute as a moral theory.

Ethical Egoism is a normative claim; it believes that individuals should always in their best interest. Another view of ethical egoism is that a person should act according to his own self-interest even if it goes against the values and beliefs of others.

At times, ethical egoism can benefit the larger group, as in a doctor in a rural town with free rent and a captive audience. The city provides the rent, the doctor the care, but all benefit.

Psychological egoism is the belief that a person’s actions are prompted by their own selfishness. If every action in the world was done, only to fulfill one’s own selfish aspirations, then there would be no purely altruistic deeds. Moral egoism is the belief that people should do what is in their best self-interest; however, they have a tendency to carry out actions due to their genuineness. Based on its definition, morality is doing something because it is the “right” thing to do. Psychological egoism creates a threat to morality, because if a person is acting kindly, not because it is right, but because he seeks self-gain, then morality is non-existent.

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.