it is a normative ethic, meaning it attempts to give moral agents a guide to what is right and what is wrong)
it states that moral agents, when faced with a moral dilemma, ought to do what is in their own self-interest
for example, do what is best for them
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How ethical egoism works
an ethical egoist believes if an action creates a beneficial outcome fro the moral agent then this can be considered ethically good
Julia Driver states that 'ethical egoism ... holds that all actions ought to be motivated by self-interest'
the only obligation an ethical egoist has is to themselves and any action that upholds this principle is deemed acceptable
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Contrast with altruism
altruism holds that moral agents have an obligation to help others
it states that a moral agent should always try to positively impact other individuals, regardless of the outcomes for the moral agent
however, an ethical egoist would consider altruistic actions as egoistic in nature as it can count as self gain
Richard Norman states 'in caring for other people, i do so because i think it will make my own life happier'
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Psychological egoism
psychological egoism is the view that humans are always motivated by self-interest
therefore, ethical egoism is the ideal normative ethic to follow because it supports our natural psychological state
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Long term interests
ethical egoism does not necessarily always entail the moral agent pursuing short term self-interests, the fufilment of short term interests can be detrimental to the long term self
e.g. skiving a lesson at school can be detrimental
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Max Stirner
A german philosopher who wrote 'the ego and its own'
he agrees that self-interest should be the root cause of an individuals actions
he states ' I am everything to myself and i do everything on my account'
he says we are all unique so we act in our own self-interest and the attempt to satify the needs of others restricts this
to recognise our uniqueness we must recognise our enslavement to moral obligations, particularly religious ones (divine command theory)
without acting in our own self-interest we are sacraficing our free will
Max rejects the view that ethical egoism is selfish as he says material gain ia 'one-sided , narrow egoism' that enslaves the moral agent
the 'union of egoists' is stirners alternative way of organising modern society in 3 principles; equality, mutal self-interest, free agreement
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Challenges to EE
Destruction of community ethos = it could dimish a community working together because moral agents will focus on themselves and ignore the communities needs
social injustice= it encourages the the pursuit of their own self-interest which could lead to other individuals suffering (poverty)
ethical egoism as a form of bigotry= a bigot is a prejudiced person that tend to believe their group is superior and divide society into groups, ethical egoism also does this as it divides people into 'me' and 'everyone else'
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