1C: Ethical Egoism

Question 1

What is ethical egoism?

Answer 1

• normative ethic
• states moral agents, when faced with an ethical dilemma, ought to do that is in their own self-interest.

Question 2

How does ethical egoism work?

Answer 2

• if an action acreages a beneficial outcome for the moral agent then this can be considered ethically good
• the only obligation an ethical egoism has is to themselves snd any action that upholds this principle is deemed acceptable.

Question 3

How does EE contrast with altruism?

Answer 3

• altruism holds the view that moral agents have an obligation to help others
• alrutuksm states a MA should always try to positively impact other individuals, regardless of the outcome for the moral agent, e.g trapped building example.
• however EE would argue altruism to be egoistic in nature. Thus is because we are only doing altruistic actions for some form of self-gain. E.g. giving money to a homeless charity.
• is there such thing as an altruistic act?

Question 4

EE- long term and short term interests:

Answer 4

• an ethical egoist needs to consider long-term interests instead of just short-term.
• the fulfilment of short-term desires may prove detrimental to the long-term self.

Question 5

Who was Max Stirner?

Answer 5

• German philosopher who is seen as one of the forerunners if EE
• his main work on egoism was in his book ‘Ego and Its Own’

Question 6

Max Stirner - all our actions should be done for self-interest:

Answer 6

• Stirner agrees with the general Ethical Egoist ethos that self-interests should be the root cause of an individual’s every moral action

Question 7

Max Stirner - we are all unique:

Answer 7

• justifies theory by saying we are all unique
• we should act in our best interests as any attempt to satisfy needs of others is denying our own uniqueness
• he uses the word ‘einzige’ which means ‘only one’
• therefore in order to maximise their own uniqueness an individual must focus and concentrated their actions purely on themselves

Question 8

Max Stirner - rejection of moral ethics and conscience:

Answer 8

• we also need to recognise ‘enslavement’ to moral obligations and duties imported by others or moral framework, e.g. DCT
• Stirner calls for the rejection of all ethical frameworks because they impose a moral framework onto is that is not our own and thus restrict our own ego. Religious ethics have stopped us being the to our own true selves
• also rejects the conscience. Even theses are no more than an internalised set of moral values imposed on us by society. Not a true reflection of our true, unique self.
• for Stirner the only way to develop their own unique is to reject all outside moral influences. Instead we must concentrate on ourselves

Question 9

Max Stirner - free will and ownness:

Answer 9

• stirner believes we should centre all our moral actions upon ourselves, if we don’t we aren’t being true to our unique ego.
• uses German word ‘engenheit’ which means ‘owness’
• stirner encourages everyone to therefore re-focus on themselves.

Question 10

Max Stirner - rejection of material gain:

Answer 10

• excessive concentration on material gain/greed would just enslave the moral agent in the same way that following a moral ethic would.
• moral agent would become a slave to capitalism; always trying to improve at the sacrifice of developing and satisfying their own unique ego.

Question 11

Max Stirner - Union of egoists:

Answer 11

• ends his theory by considering ‘Union of egoists’
• based on three principles
  1) free agreement
  2) equality of all members
  3) mutual self-interest
• unions would exist to ensure they maximise an individual’s own ego, as well as ensuring that those involved sacrifice nothing of themselves.

Question 12

What are the challenges to EE?

Answer 12

• destruction of community ethos
• social injustices
• ethical egoism can be a form of bigotry

Question 13

Challenge - destruction of community ethos:

Answer 13

• can be argued that EE will inevitably lead to the destruction of a community ethos
• community ethos is a group of people working together for the greater good of their community, e.g. a homeless charity that helps those less fortunate within a community.
• EE could diminish a community ethos, as MA will instead concentrate upon their own self-interests and thus potentially ignore community needs with rely on altruism

Question 14

Challenge - social injustices:

Answer 14

• EE encourages the pursuit of an individuals’s own interests, however this could lead to others suffering.
• e.g. accumulation of wealth. Within a society there is a limited amount of money and therefore as one individual accumulates money it means others have less.
• EE could create the social injustice of poverty for some and ultra-richness for others

Question 15

Challenge - form of bigotry:

Answer 15

• a bigot is a prejudiced persons m especially one who is intolerant towards different groups of people, I.e. different racial, sexual or cultural groups
• bigots tend to believe their group is superior to other groups of people, therefore they divide other pope into themselves and others
• EE divides people into ‘me’ and ‘everyone else’. This can lead to discrimination