Psychological Egoism

The purpose of this text is to demonstrate that if one tries to find happiness, they will be unable to do so. Also, to demonstrate that happiness can only be found with one’s mind set on an object other than happiness. I reached this conclusion by looking at the examples given in the final paragraph as shown.

He would have explained to me that even though some philosopher could argue that all of our acts are considered as selfish since the main source of our action is us therefore it does make sense that our only motif is to obtain pleasure for ourselves. As mentioned in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Psychological egoists cannot establish their view simply by pointing to the pleasure or self-benefit that accompanies so many actions. After all, often self-benefit only seems to be what we ultimately desire, though a closer look reveals benefits like pleasure are likely just byproducts while the proximate desire is for that which generates them” ( Psychological Egoism). Joel Feinberg would explain that the acts that are generated to help others even though we can receive pleasure for acting such way could be and should be considered as an altruistic act. Pleasure can be a byproduct of a good deed but what matters is what generated the good deed and if it’s for a good reason and to help others 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.

Gratification comes from any even that engages us fully. Seligman claims that “…individuals may find gratification in participating in a great conversation, fixing a bike, reading a good book…or accomplishing a difficult task at work.” (Seligman, Parks, and Steen 419) Senior also states that “doing something that engages or enhances our strengths is a gratification, whether it’s swimming, welding, or listening to a friend in need.” (Senior 428) It is interesting to note that engagement activities aimed at increasing happiness are not always enjoyable in and of themselves. Seligman notes that “consider, for example, the gratification that comes from training for an endurance even such as a marathon. At any given point during the grueling event, a runner may be discouraged or exhausted or even in physical pain; however, they may describe the overall experience as intensely gratifying.” (Seligman, Parks, and Steen 419) From this we see that gratification may help enhance our overall happiness, not through the activity itself, but from the feeling of accomplishment or well-being we experience as the end result.

Present day time, an individual without an ego is not an individual, but a person who can’t think for themselfs. A present day egoist is anyone with an opinion that can think freely. There is a problem with ego because if an individual has too much ego, then that individual is blinded with greed which will cause selfishness. An egoist can be a beneficial, artists are egoists, scientists are egoists, and entrepreneurs are egoists. Egoists are needed but egoists who go too far may cause the reputation of egoists to go

“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.

According to Aristotle, every action performed is done to attain an end goal (or good). The goals for each

Presently, rapidly, another reason we can't contemplate satisfaction is that we don't take care of the same things when we consider life, and we really live. In this way, on the off chance that you solicit the basic inquiry from how glad individuals are in California, you are not going to get to the right reply. When you pose that question, you think individuals must be more satisfied in California if, say, you live in Ohio. And what happens is the point at which you consider living in California, you are thinking about the difference in the middle of California and different spots, and that differentiation, say, is in atmosphere. Indeed, things being what they are atmosphere is not vital to the encountering self and its not by any means imperative

It is exactly right to say that the key to happiness is definitely satisfaction but it is a point worth noting that

70) . Behind every action that a person makes is an underlying question about what that person will get out of the action. According to Rachels, however, this remains an issue of human psychology as opposed to being one of ethics. That being said, psychological egoism does have serious costs for human morality. Should psychological egoism actually be correct, then it would mean that all of society is composed of selfish individuals who care only for their own gain; it would therefore be fruitless to discuss what people should be doing.

Freud proposes the Principle of Satisfaction when aiming to be happy, in other words "a problem of satisfying a person's instinctual wishes (Freud 263)." Consequently, he concludes that because our "appetite" can never be fulfilled, the attainment of happiness will be nothing else than pessimistic. Also, he notes, that not all pleasures or wishes can be satisfied as soon as they are conceived. Freud presents the example of a baby, who, initially, believes that all his/her wishes should be gratified, and only later learns, form the Reality Principle, the harsh truth, that the wishes can not be satisfied instantaneously. More than that, life teaches men that in order to experience happiness one must sacrifice the instant gratification of his/her desires in order to achieve happiness in future. A simple example would be when a businessman decides to work overtime in order to receive more money and, thus, receive more pleasure, of course temporary and in future.

In his argument, Hinman (2007) asserts that every action that people engage in is motivated by self-interests or pleasure or direct benefits the agent or to avoid living with guilt in the future. This is the nature of human beings. Even the most altruistic action is in actual sense motivated by the egocentric desire of the actor (Hugh, 1898).

“For we may be said to desire all things as means to something else except indeed happiness, as happiness is the end or perfect state” (page 230, Mayfield). As Aristotle said that our ultimate goal is happiness but in order to reach happiness you have to succeed. “Relaxation then is not an end. We enjoy it as a means to activity; but it seems that the happy life is a life of virtue, and such a life is serious, it is not one of mere amusement. We speak of serious things too as better than things which are ridiculous and amusing, and of the activity of

What is my ambition in life? What is everybody’s ambition in life? That is a question, which gives rise to many other questions, like why do we exist, what is the purpose of our life? There is the thought that out reason of existence is only known by God. That he has chosen it for us before we were ever born, and that point of the reason is to be here for anyone else. The fundamental principle of utility explicit that actions or behaviors are right in so far because they motivate contentment or pleasure, wrong as they tend to develop unhappiness or sadness. Therefore, usefulness is a teleological principle. This once again gives rise to some of the similar fundamental issues concerned with hedonism, as discussed in the earlier section on

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.