Question :
Thoroughly explain about Egoism and how the theory of Egoism can be presented
in three different ways ?
Answer :
Egoism is one of the oldest philosophical ideas , and it was already well known and
discussed by ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato . In the last three centuries , it has been quite influential in modern economics , particularly in relation to Adam Smith’s (1723-90) ideas about the design of liberalist economics . Egoism can be defined as follows :
Egoism is one of the oldest philosophical ideas , and it was already well known and
discussed by ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato . In the last three centuries , it has been quite influential in modern economics , particularly in relation to Adam Smith’s (1723-90) ideas about the design of liberalist economics . Egoism can be defined as follows :
Following the theory of egoism , an
action is morally right if the
decision-maker freely decides in
order to pursue either their (short-term)
desires or their (long-term)
interests.
Egoism is a teleological
(the belief that all natural
things and events were specially planned for a particular purpose) theory of ethics that
sets as its goal the benefit, pleasure, or greatest good of the oneself alone.
It is contrasted with altruism,
which is not strictly self-interested, but includes in its goal the interests
of others as well. In the other words , altruism means concern for others,
other-centeredness, interest in the well-being of others, unselfishness . What
counts is the pleasure or well-being of others. The common or public good is
more important than the private or individual good . There are three
different ways in which the theory of egoism can be presented .
Psychological Egoism
This is the claim that humans
by nature are motivated only by self-interest . Any act, no matter how altruistic
it might seem, is actually motivated by some selfish desire of the agent (e.g.,
desire for reward, avoidance of guilt, personal happiness). This is a descriptive
claim about
human nature. Since the claim is universal--all acts are motivated by self
interest-it could be proven false by a single counter example.
It will be difficult to
find an action that the psychological egoist will acknowledge as purely
altruistic, however. There is almost always some benefit to ourselves in any
action we choose. For example, if I helped my friend out of trouble, I may feel
happy afterwards. But is that happiness the motive for my action or just a
result of it? Perhaps the psychological egoist fails to distinguish the
beneficial consequences of an action from the self-interested motivation. After
all, why would it make me happy to see my friend out of trouble if I didn't
already have some prior concern for my friend's best interest? Wouldn't that be
altruism?
The first theory of egoism is psychological
egoism . Psychological egoism is a theory about motivation that claims that
all of our ultimate desires are self-directed . Whenever we want others to do
well (or ill), we have these other-directed desires only instrumentally , we
care about others only because we think that the welfare of others will have
ramifications for our own welfare. As stated, egoism is a descriptive, not a
normative, claim . It aims to characterize what motivates human beings in fact
, the theory does not say whether it is good or bad that people are so
motivated .
Ethical Egoism
This is the claim that individuals should always
to act in their own best interest. It is a normative claim .
If ethical egoism is true, that appears to imply that psychological egoism is
false : there would be no point to saying that we ought to do what we must do by
nature.
But if altruism is
possible, why should it be avoided? Some writers suggest we all should focus
our resources on satisfying our own interests, rather than those of others.
Society will then be more efficient and this will better serve the interests of
all. By referring to the interests of all, however, this approach reveals
itself to be a version of utilitarianism, and not genuine egoism. It is merely
a theory about how best to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number.
An alternative
formulation of ethical egoism states that I ought to act in my own
self-interest--even if this conflicts with the values and interests of
others--simply because that is what I value most. It is not clear how an
altruist could argue with such an individualistic ethical egoist, but it is
also not clear that such an egoist should choose to argue with the altruist.
Since the individualistic
egoist believes
that whatever serves his own interests is (morally) right, he will want
everyone else to
be altruistic. Otherwise they would not serve the egoist's interests! It seems
that anyone who truly believed in individualistic ethical egoism could not
promote the theory without inconsistency. Indeed, the self-interest of the
egoist is best served by publicly claiming to be an altruist and thereby
keeping everyone's good favor.
Minimalist Egoism
When working with certain economic
or sociological models, we may frequently assume that people will act in such a
way as to promote their own interests. This is not a normative claim
and usually not even a descriptive claim. Instead it is a minimalist assumption used for certain
calculations. If we assume only self-interest on the part of all agents, we can
determine certain extreme-case (e.g., maximin) outcomes for the model. Implicit
in this assumption, although not always stated, is the idea that altruistic
behavior on the part of the agents, although not presupposed, would yield
outcomes at least as good and probably better .
REFERENCES
Copyright © 1997 Charles D. Kay. All rights reserved
Obstacle to Ethics: Egoism by Gordon L. Ziniewicz
Oxford Business Ethics Third Edition by Andrew Crane & Dirk Matten
REFERENCES
Copyright © 1997 Charles D. Kay. All rights reserved
Obstacle to Ethics: Egoism by Gordon L. Ziniewicz
Oxford Business Ethics Third Edition by Andrew Crane & Dirk Matten
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