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Ethical Egoism

James Rachels

Stuart Rachels

Is there a duty to help starving people?

Each year millions of people die from health

problems caused by malnutrition.

o Over 5,200 children under the age of five die every

day from dehydration brought on by diarrhea – 1.

million per year ( and 9.7 million if death by other

preventable causes is included ).

What kind of duties do we have?

? Leaving aside the question of why we behave as

we do, what is our duty? What should we do?

Common sense might tell us to balance our own

interests against the interests of others.

The interests of others

The needs of others are also deemed important, and

when we can help others—especially at little cost to

ourselves—we sense that we should do so.

This is based on the assumption

that we have duties to others

simply because they are people

who could be helped or harmed

by what we do.

Psychological Egoism

Often confused with ethical egoism, yet quite distinct

—because it is not a moral theory.

Psychological egoism is a

theory of human psychology

and asserts that each person

does in fact pursue his or

her own self-interest alone.

Is altruism possible?

Though few of us have saved lives, acts of

altruism appear to be common.

 People do favors for one another.

 They give blood.

 They build homeless shelters.

 They volunteer in hospitals.

 They read to the blind.

 Etc.

The Argument that We Always Do What We Want to

Do

The actions of even the so-called altruist are merely

dictated by selfish desires to do what he or she most

wants to do.

\

Since this is so, psychological egoism must be true.

The Argument that We Always Do What We Want to

Do

! (^) This is a flawed argument.

There are things we do, not simply because we want

to, but because we feel that we ought to.

The mere fact that you act on

your own desires does not

mean that you are primarily

looking out for yourself; it all

depends on what you desire.

If what you want is to help

someone else, then your

motive is altruistic , not self-

interested.

The Argument that We Always Do What Makes Us Feel

Good

! (^) This argument is likewise badly flawed.

The fact that one has a self-interested motive doesn’t

mean that one doesn’t have benevolent motives as well.

If I see a child drowning, my desire to help that child

will usually be greater than my desire to avoid a guilty

conscience.

The Argument that We Always Do What Makes Us Feel

Good

We may derive satisfaction from getting what we

desire, but the object of our desire is not usually the

feeling of satisfaction itself.

Our desire to help others often comes first; the

good feelings we may get are merely a by-product.

Ethical Egoism

Ethical egoism is the radical idea that the principle of

self-interest accounts for all of one’s moral obligations.

Sometimes one’s interests may happen to coincide with

the interests of others—in that by helping oneself, one

will coincidentally help them, too.

The benefit to others is not what

makes an action right , however.

An action is right only insofar as it

is to one’s own ‘advantage.’

Ethical Egoism

One should not, however, always do what one

wants to do (for example, set up a meth lab).

A person ought to do what

really is in his or her best

interests, over the long run.

Ayn Rand’s Argument

The argument is that since:

o each person has one life to live, AND

o altruism rejects the value of the individual, WHEREAS

o ethical egoism views the individual’s life as having supreme

value,

\

then ethical egoism is the moral

philosophy we ought to accept.

Compatible with Commonsense Morality

Ethical egoism claims that all our commonsense moral

views regarding duties are ultimately derived from the

one fundamental principle of self-interest.

 It is to our own advantage to avoid harming others.

Otherwise, they might harm us.

 It is to our own advantage to be truthful. Otherwise, others

may be dishonest to us.

 It is to our own advantage to keep

our promises. Otherwise, others may

break their promises to us.