Ethical Egoism Slides, Slides of Psychology

Download Ethical Egoism Slides and more Slides Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! Ethical Egoism — James Rachels The El sly j seg : seg ; eee Stuart Rachels James RAacHELS Sixth Edition by Stuart RacHeELs 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 – 1.9 million per year (and 9.7 million if death by other preventable causes is included). 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. Egoism as morality?  Other people’s interests count, from a moral point of view.  According to ethical egoism, however, we have no duties to others; in fact, each person ought to pursue his or her own selfish interests exclusively. 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. 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 • So-called altruistic actions produce a sense of self- satisfaction in the person who performs them. \ People sometimes seem to act altruistically, but it is not hard to discover that the ‘unselfish’ behavior is actually connected to some benefit for the person who does it.  Mother Teresa’s actions, for example, were motivated by the belief she would be handsomely rewarded in heaven. Conclusion about Psychological Egoism  Every attempt to use the theory to account for all human action seems strained and implausible. \ Psychological egoism is not a credible theory.  Thus, it is not pointless to talk about whether we should care about others. 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. 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. Commonsense Negative Duties  Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) used this line of reasoning.  Hobbes formulated a negative version of the Golden Rule: “Do not that to another, which thou wouldst not have done to thyself.” Does the commonsense argument succeed?  There are two serious problems.  It shows only that it is mostly to one’s advantage to avoid harming others.  If you could ‘profit’ by exploiting, harming, or killing others, ethical egoism cannot explain why you should do otherwise. Unacceptably Arbitrary  Ethical egoism is a moral theory of the same type as racism, sexism, etc.  It advocates that each of us divide the world into two categories. The interests of one group (ourselves) are more important than those of the second group (everyone else). ? But ask: What makes me so special? What justifies placing myself in the special category?  Failing to provide an answer, ethical egoism is as arbitrary as racism. Implications of Impartiality \ We should care about the interests of other people because their needs and desires are comparable to our own. – Consider again the starving children of the world. Consider ? What is the difference between us and them? Does hunger affect them any less? Are they less ‘deserving’ than we are?