Ethical Egoism - Ethical Theory - Lecture Slides, Slides of Ethics

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Ethical Egoism

Ethical Egoism

Ethical egoism is the view that everyone ought to pursue his or her own self-interest.

It is a view that is distinct from psychological egoism. Psychological egoism maintains that humans in fact do pursue their own self interest in all cases, and that it is impossible for them not to.

Ethical egoism challenges many people’s deepest beliefs about morality. We often think that morality is about other regarding desires. And many of us often have these other regarding desires. However, ethical egoism tells us only to pursue these if they are in our self-interest.

Arguments for ethical egoism: knowledge

asymmetry

1. We know our own interests perfectly.
2. We know others interests imperfectly.
3. If we know x’s interests imperfectly, we are more likely to fail to help x pursue their interests.
4. We are obligated not to harm others.
5. So, since we know our interests perfectly, it is best that we pursue our interests and not those of others. For we may end up harming them, since we know their interests only imperfectly.

Arguments for ethical egoism: non-paternalism

1. Looking out for another’s interests often requires being paternalistic.
2. While it is appropriate in certain cases to be paternalistic, such as in a parent-child relationship. It is inappropriate in adult-adult relationships.
3. So, looking out for another’s interest in adult-adult relationships is inappropriate.

The oddity of the reasons in favor of ethical egoism

1. We ought to do whatever will promote the best interests of everyone alike.
2. The interests of everyone will best be promoted if each of us adopts the policy of pursuing our own interests exclusively.
3. Therefore, each of us should adopt the policy of pursuing our own interests exclusively.

However, premise (2) has an non-egoistic character. We are pursuing our own interests because it will promote society’s interest. This means that ethical egoism is supported by some non-egoistic doctrine about what we ought to be pursuing.

Arguments in favor of ethical egoism: Ayn Rand

1. A person has only one life to live. Few place any value on the individual – that is, if the individual has any moral worth – then we must agree that this life is of supreme importance. After all, it is all one has, and all one is.
2. The ethics of altruism regards the life of the individual as something one must be ready to sacrifice for the good of others.
3. Therefore, the ethics of altruism does not take seriously the value of the human individual.
4. Ethical egoism, which allows each person to view his or her own life as being of ultimate value, does take the human individual seriously – in fact, it is the only philosophy that does.
5. Thus, ethical egoism is the only philosophy that ought to be accepted.

The revisionist account of ethical egoism

The revisionist account maintains that ethical egoism is an account of the origin of morality. It is because we ought only to pursue our self-interest that we come eventually to see through reason that certain forms of behavior are appropriate in society.

a) If we make a habit of harming others, then they will not be reluctant to harm us.

b) If we make a habit of lying to others, then they will lie to us.

c) It is beneficial for us to engage in contracts. To engage in contracts requires that we are able to trust one another and that each can be counted on to do their part.

d) The principle ‘do onto others as you would have them do on to you’ is derived from ethical egoism.

Conflicts of Interest and Ethical Egoism

1. Part of the point of an adequate moral theory is that it be able to resolve conflicts of interest. Conflicts of interest arise when two or more parties have competing interests, which require compromises or a choice of which interest to pursue.
2. Ethical egoism maintains that we should only promote our own self interest. In a conflict of interest this requires that we promote our interest as long as all other competing interests require the promotion of others interests that are not to our benefit.
3. So, ethical egoism is an inadequate moral theory, since it cannot resolve conflicts of interest.

An argument against ethical egoism:

1. Any moral doctrine that assigns greater importance to the interests of one group than to those of another is unacceptably arbitrary unless there is some difference between the members of the groups that justifies treating them differently.
2. Ethical egoism would have each person assign greater importance to his or her own interests than to the interests of others. But there is no general difference between oneself and others, to which each person can appeal, that justifies this difference in treatment.
3. Therefore, ethical egoism is unacceptably arbitrary.

Defending the first premise

Racism and sexism are wrong because they are ways in which we treat certain groups as having less moral worth on the basis of an arbitrary standard. Neither one’s race nor their gender is a morally significant feature of them. No special burdens or benefits should be distributed on the basis of race and gender in an ideal egalitarian state.

If it is wrong to engage in racism and sexism because one arbitrarily assigns more worth to their sex and their gender, then it is wrong to engage in egoism, since one arbitrarily assigns their own self interest more value than that of others.

So, taking one’s own interests as primary is wrong.