{"id":34410,"date":"2023-09-23T17:44:29","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T17:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/questions\/this-week-we-consider-two-forms-of-egoism-which-help-us-address-psychological-questions-about-moral-motivation-and-the-genesis-of-morality-psychological-egoism-and-ethical-egoism\/"},"modified":"2023-09-23T17:44:29","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T17:44:29","slug":"this-week-we-consider-two-forms-of-egoism-which-help-us-address-psychological-questions-about-moral-motivation-and-the-genesis-of-morality-psychological-egoism-and-ethical-egoism","status":"publish","type":"questions","link":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/questions\/this-week-we-consider-two-forms-of-egoism-which-help-us-address-psychological-questions-about-moral-motivation-and-the-genesis-of-morality-psychological-egoism-and-ethical-egoism\/","title":{"rendered":"This week we consider two forms of egoism which help us address psychological questions about moral motivation and the genesis of morality: psychological egoism and ethical egoism."},"content":{"rendered":"

This week we consider two forms of <\/span>egoism <\/span><\/em>which help us address psychological questions about moral motivation and the genesis of morality: <\/span>psychological egoism <\/span><\/em>and <\/span>ethical egoism.<\/span><\/em>Psychological egoism is a <\/span>descriptive <\/span><\/em>theory that says we are all, <\/span>in fact<\/span><\/em>, always motivated out of self-interest. Ethical egoism is a <\/span>prescriptive <\/span><\/em>theory since it says we <\/span>should <\/span><\/em>always act in our own self-interest. It is called “ethical” egoism precisely because it is a <\/span>prescriptive rather than a descriptive theory<\/span><\/em>,
\n NOT because it is necessarily good or moral (to think that would be, as
\n we have seen, to misunderstand the meaning of ethics in philosophy and
\nthink that ‘ethics’ is synonymous with ‘moral’ or ‘good’). When it comes
\n to psychological egoism, we will want to know if it is really the case
\nthat we are all, in fact, motivated out of self-interest. When it comes
\nto ethical egoism, we will want to ask: Aren’t there good reasons to
\nthink we should act, at least sometimes, for the sake of others? That
\nis, shouldn’t we, at least sometimes, be <\/span>altruistic<\/span><\/em>?
\n Isn’t it the case that what is right or good is not always in our
\ninterest? We admire many people who put aside their interests to help
\nothers, and world religions have always celebrated individuals who have
\nchampioned altruism. So <\/span>shouldn’t we forgo <\/span><\/em>being ethical egoists? Perhaps. But again, we need to ask what <\/span>arguments<\/span><\/em>(recall
\n an argument is a set of premises from which a conclusion is derived,
\nnot a disagreement) can be given in defense of the claim that ethical
\negoism should or should not be embraced as an ethical theory. I offer a
\nfew in the reading I wrote up for you and in the IEP reading as well. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We
\n will also take a quick look at Social Contract Theory, a theory about
\nthe origins of morality that works well with egoism vs. altruism issues.
\n This theory states that morality emerges from the adoption of a social
\ncontract to act a certain way if others do as well. We will briefly look
\n at two famous contract approaches to morality from Thomas Hobbes and
\nJohn Locke. <\/span><\/p>\n

Questions and Points to Master<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What is the difference between egoism and egotism (with a \u2019t\u2019)? <\/span><\/p>\n

What is psychological egoism? <\/span><\/p>\n

Know that one of the central difficulties with psychological egoism is the fact that it is about <\/span>motives<\/span><\/em>\u2014about the selfish motives that underlie all of our acts. After all, motives are very difficult\u2014and usually <\/span>impossible<\/span><\/em>\u2014to
\n verify, observe, study scientifically, etc. This doesn’t mean the
\ntheory is false; but it does mean it may be useless as an explanatory
\nprinciple. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But if we look at the other side of the argument, we <\/span>do <\/span><\/em>have
\n people\u2019s sincere and, sometimes, carefully formulated first-person
\ntestimony of their altruistic motives. This strongly suggests that
\negoism is not just a poor explanatory device but also false. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What is rational egoism? <\/span><\/p>\n

What is conditional egoism?<\/span><\/p>\n

Know that one objection to rational egoism is that it may not always be rational to act in your own self-interest. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is ethical egoism?<\/span><\/p>\n

Know
\n that social contract theory (SCT) is the view that persons’ moral
\nand\/or political obligations are dependent upon a contract or agreement
\namong them to form the society in which they live.<\/span><\/p>\n

Be
\n able to compare and contrast Hobbes’ view of the social contract with
\nLocke’s view of the social contract (see the entry on the SCT in IEP for
\n details on both, as well as this week’s videos). Hobbes’ view, which is
\n grounded in moral relativism, hedonism (pleasure is the ultimate good),
\n egoism, materialism (reality is only matter in motion), and determinism
\n (every movement is the necessary effect of previous causes and thus
\nthere is no free will), entails that we are all determined to avoid the
\nviolent “state of nature” (the state of the world without civilization
\nwhich, due to our egoism and desire for pleasure and power, is
\n“solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”) by entering into a social
\ncontract by adopting the following “the laws of nature”: (1) seek peace
\nif others do as well; (2) give up your all rights if others do as well;
\nand (3) hand over all power to a Leviathan or powerful ruler who will
\nkeep the peace by force. In contrast, Locke does not view humans as
\negoists and thus doesn’t think the state of nature would be so bad. As a
\n result, he doesn’t think humans would be so desperate to escape it by
\nadopting a contract in which we lose our rights. Thus his version of the
\n social contract included innate natural rights, a division of powers in
\n government, the right to legitimate revolution, and, in general, a
\ngovernment of, by, and for the people. Our founding fathers, in
\nconsidering these theories, chose to go with Locke.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

\nWhat do you think of ethical egoism? What objections for or against it
\ndo you find convincing? Unconvincing? Feel free to add to, develop, or
\ncritique those reasons given above. You can also work in aspects of
\nrational egoism and conditional egoism as well.<\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Egoism<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n