Ethical Egoism Vs Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is a theory within ethics that states that people should base their actions on what is best for the society. Ethical egoism is the exact opposite; it states that people should generally base their actions off of self-interest. It is impossible to say either utilitarianism or ethical egoism is correct, by looking into two case studies though, we can see how followers of each theory base their decisions.

The current political atmosphere has brought about a renewal in the interest of the works of Ayn Rand. The Russian-American novelist has once again been thrust into the limelight for a new generation of readers and political thinkers. Her ideas have been lauded in the Wall Street Journal and Fox News, and like many things these days, has had her ideas bent to meet certain political agendas. Much like Lenin used the ideas of Marx and Engels, the political right has used Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead to push for their version of what America should be.

Ethical Egoisms principles are in sharp contrast to those of the Divine Command ethical theory. The ethical theory of Divine command in short states that good actions are those that are aligned with the will of God and that bad actions are those that God opposes. [3] Since Divine Command is all about what God wants and an ethical being following what God wants is considered moral, Ethical Egoism’s self-interested principles care not for the thoughts or even the well-being of others, including God. This does not mean that a self-interested Ethical Egoist is actively trying to harm others or that they can’t care for the well- being of others, it just means that if an action does not benefit the Egoist in some way or if taking an action will harm the Egoist in some way, that is not counteracted by some long term good coming

The way a person thinks and analyzes situations in their life and/or society can be indifferent and challenging depending on their moral and ethical views. Furthermore, there have been multiple philosophers who have studied the way society thinks and reacts to situations by creating different perceptions for decision making. For example, some people make decisions on what they believe is morally right for their tribe (family, religion, lifestyles) while others may contradict this statement and believe that decision-making should help the greater good despite moral beliefs, which is called utilitarianism. This philosophy explains the measures on how one defines a decision to be morally right or wrong. A utilitarian believes that morality is

In the second chapter of our book Ethics Theory And Practice It discuses ethical egoism and utilitarianism. Ethical Egoism is a theory that states that everyone should act in their own self interest. Ethical Egoism can take three forms: Individual ethical egoism, which states that everyone ought to act in my own self interest. Which obviously can’t work because not everyone is thinking about just one person. The next possible form it can take is personal ethical

Hence ethical egoism, ultimately, denies that an individual has a basic need or responsibility to care for another, divides the world into “haves” and “have-nots”, and altruistic acts; unselfish concern for the welfare of others. On the other hand, the strengths in ethical egoism are: (1) values the individual; one ought to act care for oneself and act on that concern. (2) Avoids self-defeating behavior, such as moral obligation to self and not to harm self, and (3) posses moral rights.

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.

Since its initial launch in 1994, Amazon.com has now become the biggest e-commerce store in the world. Despite the slow start during its early years, Amazon has skyrocketed its growth around 2014 with its $90 billion revenue and 154,100 employees (“The Amazon Effect”). The increasing popularity of the company is backed up by its convenience and cheap factors that are present in e-commerce stores especially Amazon. The rapid and sudden grow of Amazon pushes the company to expand its factories and internal system. Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, has been known for his powerful and authoritarian style of leadership. However, as of now, Amazon has raised several controversies regarding its actions from tax avoidances, predatory pricing, and the mistreatment of workers. These controversies grabbed a lot of attention especially for tech enthusiasts and engineers. Even though these controversies are generally labeled as misconducts and bad practices, it turns out these practices are not necessarily unethical when seen from the three ethical perspectives: Kantian theory, Utilitarianism, and Ethical Egoism perspective. These three common perspectives in the study of ethics can be used to evaluate the ethicality of the internal practices and effects of Amazon.

3) Can Deontological Egoism avoid all the problems that confront unconstrained ethical egoism? In this essay I will argue that Deontological Egoism can rescue Unconstrained Ethical Egoism from a large number of its problems and that DE offers a more plausible and attractive Egoism theory Understanding Moral theories The goal of a moral theory is to meet certain moral principles. Various principles are argued for to be included as moral principles within a workable moral theory. We therefore can analyze the specific moral theories of Ethical Egoism and Deontological Egoism which fall under the umbrella of the Egoism class of theories and see if they take into account certain moral principles that are important in order for a theory to be

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

Ethical Egoism is a normative theory which focuses on individualistic consequences (Burgess-Jackson, 2013). Everyone is said to be motivated by their own self-interest, as it is their moral obligation to do what is best for themselves (Rachels, 2003). How an individual ought to behave is determined by whether the action creates the highest net utility for themselves (Rachels, 2003). In Thomas

John, regardless of which consequential approach you choose is absolutely unethical and morally wrong in his choice to illegally spy on a female neighbor. Not only is the wrong on a mental level it is also against the law in all fifty states.

Should capital punishment be abolished in America or is it a reasonable form of punishment for certain criminals? That’s the question that has been asked for the past 40 years and it is a sensitive topic on the count of people’s lives being at stake. It is a reasonable debate though, because there are many people that think it is morally wrong and should not be practiced, but then there are others that believe in capital punishment and think it should stay in place. Is America going to totally abolish the death penalty?

“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 states “…one’s self is, or should be, the motivation and the goal of one’s own action (Moseley, N/A).” Egoistic theory states that everyone should want to act for the desired outcome of the self. There are two types of egoism: ethical and psychological (Kirkwood, 2016). Psychological egoism states we act in ways that are wrong, even though we know it is wrong, for our own selfish needs (Kirkwood 2016). In contrast, ethical egoism states that we should act in a certain way to benefit ourselves (Kirkwood 2016). Ethical egoism is best suited to explain why it is “just” for physicians to assist patient suicide; because it is financially beneficial for both the family and tax payers. Any Rand, an ethical egoist stated, “[e]veryone should