Egoism and Contractual Morality - Ethics and Value Theory - Lecture Notes, Study notes of Philosophy

Download Egoism and Contractual Morality - Ethics and Value Theory - Lecture Notes and more Study notes Philosophy in PDF only on Docsity! Egoism and Contractual Morality Part 1: Introduction to Egoism Plato Rachels Part 2: Contractual Morality for the Ethical Egoist Intro to Egoisms There are two types of Egoism: i.) Psychological Egoism (P.E.): A descriptive claim about human behaviour, i.e., as a matter of fact, individuals act only in their own self- interest. ii.) Ethical Egoism (E.E.): A normative theory about how people should act, i.e., individuals should only act in their own self-interest. Hobbes was a psychological egoist, but we’ll talk more about that later. Docsity.com P.E. has been relied upon to support E.E. For example, we might argue that because P.E. is true, morality should be based on the pursuit of our own self-interest. P.E. has also been relied upon to support the weaker claim that if it is true then, at the very least, our moral system ought to take self-interest into account. So is P.E. true? This is an empirical question about individuals’ motives. Some have tried to argue that all motives can be re-described egoistically, but there are no good reasons to accept these re-descriptions. E.E. may be true even if P.E. is not. E.E. is often said to be self-contradictory because it cannot be recommended for others; but it is possible that all of us acting out of self-interest might enter into a Docsity.com society. So men are only just because they lack the power to do wrong. What if two men had Gyges ring, one unjust, one just. Even the just man would succumb to the temptations of wrongdoing with total immunity from bad consequences (pyschological egoism). And what’s more, if the just man were to fail to take advantage of his situation, everyone would believe him to be an idiot (ethical egoism). Adeimantus, Glaucon’s brother, then jumps in to finish the argument. All we need to do to see that this view is commonly held is to consider why (Athenian) society recommends a life of justice. In every case, it is because the life of justice provides a better reputation, whether in the eyes of society or the gods. James Rachels – Down with Egoism(s)! Docsity.com C: There are at least 2 assumptions made in moral theories that are inconsistent with either version of egoism, though this fact alone is not sufficient to show that egoism is false. Section 1: exegesis Section 2: refutation of P.E. Section 3: refutation of E.E. Section 4: conclusion Section 1: Moral assumptions. Assumption 1: other humans and their interests matter when I try to decide which action I ought to pursue. Assumption 2: sometimes people do act in the interest of others. If either P.E. or E.E. is true, then these assumptions are not and therefore, morality is not what we thought it was. Docsity.com Section 2: Arguments for P.E. a. P1: All actions are performed voluntarily P2: Voluntary actions are representative of what an agent wants to do C: Therefore, any action done because an agent wants to do it must be selfish. 1st objection: P2 is false. 2nd objection: Even if we grant the argument, it does not follow that because I want to do something, I am acting selfishly. b. P1: Unselfish acts produce a sense of self- satisfaction P2: Self-satisfaction is pleasurable C: Therefore, unselfish actions are actually selfish because they produce pleasure. 1st objection: the fact that I get pleasure from altruism shows I want to be altruistic. 2nd obj: my altruism must precede the pleasure I gain from acting altruistically. Docsity.com and one that it is really hard imagining the E.E. does not have. The E.E. Universalization Problem Solved by Contract. Waluchow, pgs. 121 – 142 Social Contract theory of morality is based on the early political attempts to defend a ‘social contract’. These theories are themselves derived from a common set of facts thought to be true of the human experience. The common facts of human life are: 1. basic equality 2. desire for survival 3. best means of survival is with other persons, under a system of laws 4. moderate scarcity 5. limited altruism 6. practical rationality Docsity.com According to Hobbes, life in the ‘State of Nature’, that time prior to government or law is difficult. In order to leave this condition we must sign away our liberty in the state of nature to the sovereign to gain security. What makes Hobbes a P.E. is his claim that we all act in our own self-interest; that what makes the state of nature bad, and makes life under the sovereign look good. Modern Social Contract Theory of Morality A set of standards that would be accepted by rationally self-interested individuals able to recognize the benefits of living under those standards. Gauthier is an E.E. because on his theory, the source of morality is individual self- interest. The advantages of such a view are: 1. Morality works on behalf of, not against my interests. Docsity.com 2. All we need for a moral theory are accounts of the basic desires and basic practical rational faculty of individuals. 3. We can accommodate relativism because morality is universal but not objective, and admits of great variation across cultures. For Gauthier, morality is an attempt to overcome real world manifestations of the ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’. Me Confess Don’t Confess 5,5 1,10 You Don’t 10,1 2,2 The optimal solution (that which would yield the greatest cumulative benefit) in this scenario would be for neither of us to confess. But this is not what would be rational for each of us as individuals – Docsity.com