Theories Of Ethical And Pshchological Egoism Essay Example for Free

Theories Of Ethical And Pshchological Egoism Essay Many feel that human nature drives people to deny all forms of altruism and the desire to help others; while an equal amount feels that it is the duty of every human to help others at all costs.   Because there is no way to really decide such a subjective argument, it seems personal preference is the best way to dictate such action.   The alternatives to such altruistic action are egoism, as described through ethical and psychological egoism. These options counter the utilitarian approach, which many find the preferable way for humans to act, and the greatest good for the greatest number of people should be in mind for every action a person makes.    However, the utilitarian approach often leaves open-ended questions on just how much help the fortunate should give to those who are not.   That is why the best approach is through ethical egoism, as if everyone looked out for his or her best interests, ideally, everyone would be able to support themselves and those for whom they care.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While utilitarianism seems to be an ideal way to exist, it leaves too many questions about morality and the limits of altruism.   Egoism is much more natural, as it fosters the will to survive with a distinct rationalism.   The distinction between psychological egoism and ethical egoism reflects the contrast of is verses ought, fact verses value, or descriptive verses prescriptive (Philosophy Lander, 2006). In layman’s terms, this means that ethical egoism is based on the idea that individuals should do only what is in his or her self-interest to achieve morality, while psychological egoism accepts the fact that all people act in their self-interests anyway, despite any appearance to the contrary.   This expresses the difference between the descriptive nature of psychological egoism and the prescriptive nature of ethical egoism, with the former stating humans do things in their own best interests, while the latter states that humans merely should do things in their best interest (Lycan, 2001). To a psychological egoist, human nature is being wholly self-centered and self-motivated, which basically renders all morality useless (Moseley, 2006).   To an ethical egoist, morality is still pertinent and there are strong and weak types of the theory, with the strong version holding it is always moral to promote one’s own good, and it is never moral not to promote it, while the weak version states although it is always moral to promote one’s own good, it is not necessarily never moral to not (Moseley, 2006).   The weak version allows that there may be situations where pursuit of self-interest is not the most important thing and may actually be contrary to the best interests of an individual when concerning morality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The difference between psychological and ethical egoism cannot be fully understood without knowing the fallacy that exists with psychological egoism.   The fallacy is that people are always motivated by self-interest, when there may be a great variety of motivating factors affecting their decisions, especially emotions.   The concept of motivation has a great deal to do with each theory, as psychological egoism is motivated by individual selfishness, while ethical egoism is motivated by the idea that one must do what is right, even if against self-interests. Because of this, one can commit an altruistic act with ethical egoism, however, with psychological egoism altruism is impossible unless simultaneously serving the interest of the individual as well.   Selfishness and self-interest, while containing some similar attributes, are very different, in that selfishness focuses solely on the needs of the individual, while self-interest merely seeks advantageous circumstances to ensure success. Ethical egoism is a philosophical practice that encourages individuals to pursue their own self-interests.   While it is idealistic to think of helping unknown masses with one’s own hard earned money, it is also naà ¯ve to think that people should feel obligated to do so.   A person who works hard to make money to buy fine things is entitled to those things.   Just because a person is successful and can afford luxury items does not mean that they are obligated to help strangers because it serves some sort of utilitarian purpose. If anything, much of this altruism merely perpetuates a cycle in which those who are poor become accustomed to the aid of those who are not.   If they pursued their own self-interests, they would be better able to rise above their own struggles and create a successful world for themselves. Ethical egoism is not entirely without the concept of helping others, however it focuses not on people that an individual will never meet, but the people in his or her life and those that the person loves and touches personally.   Psychological egoism lacks the fundamental questions of morality to begin with, and helping others is only necessary if it benefits the helper.   While it is difficult to claim that either type of egoism is correct, or even preferable to a utilitarian approach, it allows individuals to remain independent and free of all illusions. REFERENCES Lycan, W. (2001). Morality. University of North Carolina. Retrieved April 26, 2008, from http://www.unc.edu/~ujanel/Morality.htm Moseley, A. (2006). Egoism. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/e/egoism.htm#SH2b Philosophy Lander. (2006). Psychological Egoism. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/egoism.html