1C: Ethical Egoism Flashcards
What is ethical egoism?
A normative ethical theory that states that moral agents, when faced with a moral dilemma, ought to do what is in their own self interest
How does ethical egoism work?
- the consequences of actions should be considered
- if a particular action would create a beneficial consequence for the moral agent then this can be considered ethically good
How did Auguste Comte define altruism?
“living for the sake of others”
What is psychological egoism?
the view that humans are always motivated by self interest, even if it seems to be an act of altruism (eg when moral agents choose to help others, they do so because of the personal benefits they expect to gain directly or indirectly)
Why is ethical egoism considered the ideal normative ethic to follow?
It supports our natural psychological state
James Rachels: “Ethical egoism endorses ___________, but it doesn’t endorse ___________”
selfishness, foolishness
What is the name of Stirner’s book?
‘The Ego and Its Own’
How does Stirner argue that all our actions are done for self interest?
- Self interest is the root cause of an individuals every action, even when they are apparently doing altruistic actions
- “I am everything to myself and I do everything on my own”
- Even love is an example of selfishness because love makes one happy. He sees all other people purely as a means for self enjoyment
- He justifies this by claiming that all individuals are unique and should reject any attempts to restrict or deny their uniqueness
- Individuals should maximise their uniqueness by concentrating all their actions on themselves
- We must treat ourselves as the ‘highest being’
How does Stirner reject material gain?
- He rejects the idea that EE is about monetary gain because greed is just one part of the ego
- To spend one’s life pursuing only that part of our ego is to deny all other parts of our ego
- He called the pursuit of monetary gain “one sided, narrow egoism”
What is Stirner’s idea of ‘union of egoists’?
- It is his alternative way of organising modern society but on egoist principles
- People would unite in ‘unions’ based on free agreement, equality of all members, and the mutual self interest of those involved
- Therefore, unions would exist to ensure they maximise an individuals self enjoyment , pleasure, freedom and individuality, as well as ensuring that those involved sacrifice nothing while belonging to them
What does Stirner say about giving to charity?
He doesn’t give a fixed response to the question of if EEs should give to charity, beyond saying an egoist will do as they please - in whatever way will serve their own interests
According to Stirner, what delusion must the true self reject?
The belief that we are actually free to make moral choices
- He says we are misguided when we think we’re choosing our own moral actions because actually, unless we have ‘realised our ownness’, we are basically controlled by religious or philosophical systems of morality
- We must reject such systems or we will never be free to develop ourselves as moral beings
According to Stirner, what is “realising your ownness”? (Eigenheit)
- ‘Realising’ means ‘making something happen’
- We cannot be masters of ourselves and serve our own interests unless we shake off any other influencing authorities whether it’s religious, cultural, legal etc
According to Stirner, what is “realising your uniqueness”? (Einzig)
- The stage that follows after a person has realised their owners
- The influencing authorities that they have shaken off had the effect of ‘homogenising’ people (making them the same as each other’
- Once a person is their own master, they can develop their uniqueness and decide how to best serve their own interests
Stirner: “I shall be the _____ of every ______ _____”
enemy, higher, power
