...is the idea that each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively… …Ethical egoism says we have no duty except to do what is best for ourselves. Ethical Egoism does not say that one should promote one’s own interests as well as the interests of others. That would be an ordinary, unexceptional view. Ethical Egoism is the radical view that one’s only duty is to promote one’s own interests.from Ethical Egoism by James Rachels, as included in The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature, pg549-557.
As I expected, several of our club members profess to be ethical egoists... anyone want to further defend (or challenge) such an ethical perspective?
1 comment:
Wouldn't ethical egoism be going against our own instincts? For example, if someone's crying in class, then its a natural reaction for a lot of people to go see what's wrong and try to comfort them, even if they don't know them. (I would say things like murder aren't instinctual; only if we're pushed to do it in some way). It's not like going to help a sad person always makes you feel good; you can get frustrated because they're telling you to leave or won't say what's wrong, therefore a good feeling can't be defined as in your interests. Therefore following your own interests exclusively is also neglecting them, since your instincts are telling you to help people, though it doesn't really pose any benefit.
In addition, the whole world depends on eachother. Even if someone is payed to produce something, if they're not paid enough to live, then they'll be unable to do that job, and eventually, no one will be (maybe they're all getting sick because they don't get paid enough for doctors, or are all on strike or something). Because of that, giving charity, which doesn't benefit you directly, is necessary. If this is considered as going along with ethical egoism because it ends up benefitting yourself, then the concept of ethical egoism turns into "helping the human race will always be beneficial", which makes ethical egoism pretty unradical.
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