ESSAY

Chapter 7 Instructor Notes – Ethical Egoism; Morality Is Acting in Our Best Self-Interest

Gyges’ Magic Ring from Plato’s Republic – Glaucon’s position is that is more reasonable to be unjust (201).

I. Ethical Egoism Explained:

a. Definition: The meta-ethical theory that every person should what is in his or her best self-interest (425). It differs from ethical relativism because it is concerned with one’s self-interest. It is not the same as an egotist which is a person who is arrogant, boastful, inconsiderate, and self-centered. These actions are not necessarily in one’s best interests.

i. Key Claims of Ethical Egoism

1. Individual Happiness is the greatest moral good.

2. People achieve happiness by pursuing their own rational self-interest

3. People ought to pursue their rational self-interests.

We rationally (objectively) calculate what is in our own self-interest. This belief that happiness and the pursuit of self-interest is frequently seen in moral discussion, but Ethical Egoism is takes this step further, by claiming that individual happiness (rationally pursued) is all that matters (202).

Epicurus –v- Hedonism: Hedonism is a philosophical doctrine that considers pleasure to the standard of value. Cyrenics –v- Epicurus. Bentham –v- Mill. Epicurus was an ethical Egoist (341-270 BC) who argued that pleasure as the ultimate good is “implanted in our mind by nature.” 203. Hedonism focuses on the immediate pleasures. Egoism considers long and short-term pleasures which requires a level of prudence (203).

b. Thomas Hobbes; Psychological Egoism

i. Hobbes (1588 – 1679): People form society for protection. We continue to live by the laws as long as it benefits us. Even acts like charity and altruism are ultimately egoistic – done when there is a payoff in return.

ii. Position Explained: Psychological egoism is a descriptive theory. Although people may not always act in their rational self-interest (smoking etc), people are motivated to act in their own self-interest. People may fail don’t fail for lack of motivation, but from error and ignorance (206).

iii. Limitations: On the surface, this position is airtight which is one of its primary flaws:

1. Non-falsifiable: One of the requirements of any good science. This position cannot devise any hypothetical situation that might disprove their theory.

2. Circular: It is essentially the circular position that: People are always motivated by self-interest, therefore, whatever people do must have been motivated by self-interest.

3. Motives?: Another problem is that is sometimes hard to know what our own (or others) motivation really is. When a hero acts, the psychological egoists claims that the real motive “though it may be unconscious, is self-benefit” (207).

4. Note: this is a fallacy of ignorance as well. One cannot argue that one’s conclusion is true simply because others cannot prove that there are no unconscious egoist motives.

Ethical Egoists will allow that we may not always act out of psychological egoism (always self-interest), but that we should. Ethical egoists do not necessarily accept psychological egoism. Indeed, if psychological egoism is true, there wouldn’t be any need for the Ethical egoist moral theory (208).

c. Ayn Rand; Objectivist Ethics and Rational Ethical Egoism:

i. Ayn Rand (1905 – 1982). Witnessed demoralizing effects of communism and concluded that ethical egoism as exemplified by laissez-faire was the “only philosophy compatible with respect for the integrity and reality of the individual human” (209). She called her position by a slightly different name “Objectivist ethics” as she believed it was developed around the objective state of humanity.

ii. Rational Egoism – Because reason is required for survival, it has moral value, and we ought to behave rationally to be moral. Humans are fundamentally solitary individuals, each pursuing his or her own personal self-interest. Society is just a collection of individuals. Her rational vitrues:

1. Be independent. Live by the work of your own mind.

2. Have integrity. Don’t sacrifice your convictions to the opinions of others.

3. Be honest. Don’t fake reality

4. Be Just. Neither seek nor give that which is unearned or undeserved (210).

Altruism: Helping others is only justified if we receive something in return. Altruism and compassion kill the spirit and have left us feeling guilty and full of self-hatred (210). Altruism is immoral. Selfishness is virtuous.

Distribution of Resources: An even larger issue for Rand is the non-voluntary redistribution of wealth within a country. Federal bailouts, etc. Members of the Rand institute continue to argue that prosperity for the county improves only with less government involvement.

II. Ethical Egoism and Laissez-faire Capitalism:

a. Definition: “Laissez-faire capitalism is an economic system based on individual freedom, the pursuit of rational and prudent self-interest, and minimal government interference” (212).

b. Laissez-faire and a Free-Market Economy: Adam Smith (1723 – 1790) laid out this approach in Wealth of Nations where everyone is allowed the freedom to pursue their own self-interest in the marketplace. Part of the beauty, he thought, is that while individuals gain wealth, they are adding to the national gross domestic product. The result would be the most efficient use of resources and society is built up as well.

c. Marxist Analysis of Laissez-faire Capitalism: There is no doubt that capitalism has created nearly unfathomable wealth, but Marx would ask the question: For Whom? Marx’s position is that capitalism really only benefits a very few people at the expense of everyone else. Most people become alienated from their labor in this economy. It protects the “objective interests” (Rand) or people only by turning them into “objects” to be used by others.

The gap between rich and poor has widened at an increased rate in the US since the late 1990s to a point where we are among the highest levels of economic inequality and poverty in the world. Economic inequality is increasing world-wide with the globalization of capitalism. Marx also highlighted that people’s abilities to trade skills and services in a free-market vary widely. Existing economic forces encourage people to undervalue their labor, which just adds to the cycle. The egoist’s assumption that we are all in a position to act as traders, as we noted earlier, is questionable.

d. Globalization of Capitalism: According to ethical egoists, a global capitalist system will benefit both rich and poor nations. Wealth will trickle down until the poor also will be able to compete in the world market. These assurances have not been borne out. Globalization has made the divide worse. Liberation ethicists have become more adamant about the immoral, exploitive, and institutionalized harms of capitalism. Increasingly, the wealthy will have to turn to more violent means to maintain control (215). Liberation ethicists have noted that colonization has left many countries with an unfair disadvantage to trade in an international market (216). As the ethical egoist might predict, the need to compete has fueled mass (legal and illegal) migration (215). Marx and liberation positions criticize Ethical Egoism for not taking the dignity and humanity of individuals seriously, because the moral

e. Individuals versus Social Responsibility

III. Ethical Egoism and the Moral Community:

a. Egoism, Self-esteem, and Moral Development – individuals are the limit of the moral community (those that have intrinsic worth – all others are objects that may be useful).

b. Communitarianism – tend to put too much focus on all human activity being focused on the overall good. Yet, Ethical Egoism, tends to put too much focus on human activity being focused on individual interests.

c. Self-interest and Happiness - Rand never carried out any research about the pursuits that make people happier. Recent studies (1980s) found that many commonly held assumptions about happiness are not born out by research. “The prevalent belief…that hard work and productive labor are one of the most important contributing factors to happiness; was not verified by the studies” (p.223). Higher levels of happiness were detected in people who rank social values (love, sympathy, tolerance, etc) high.

IV. Critique of Ethical Egoism:

a. Encourages the development of self-esteem – this is a positive thing. We need respect for ourselves to feel the moral indignation that supports moral motivation to stand up for others.

b. It is self-defeating – it leads to isolation and inclusion of only ourselves in the moral community of persons with intrinsic worth. What is the point of achieving our rational self-interest if we are the only person who is willing to put up with us.

c. Cannot be universalized – an Ethical Egoist would not want others to adopt their position as it would be easier to negotiate for one’s own self-interest if others are not protecting their self-interest. Further, since fulfilling one’s own rational self-interest is the only moral position, it is to the advantage of the Ethical Egoist to encourage others to behave immorally (not act on their own self-interest).

d. Provides no guidance on interpersonal conflict – when individual people’s self-interest come into conflict they are both right (moral). There is no additional/higher law to appeal to in order to judge between these competing claims.

e. It is arbitrary – “while it may be true, as Rand claims, that we cannot truly value others without first valuing ourselves, it does not follow from this that we should habitually put our interest above those of others” (p. 225).

f. Like Social Darwinism, and ethical subjectivism, allows the powerful to exploit the weak. – the devastating effects of this ideology on the people and nations that are not in positions of economic power…are becoming more and more evident (p 226). Those that have had everything taken from them are not is a position to aggressively negotiate, which gives the power advantage to the wealthy.

g. It fails to take into account that we are social beings who exist as part of a wider community. – It fails to recognize (or even acknowledge) the possibility that we are, at least in part, social animals who desire community.

h. Ethical egoism inhibits moral development – it encourages self-interest (a pre-conventional/ childish/ ethically undeveloped position according to Gilligan) and/or a position of reciprocity – be nice to those that can benefit us and not anyone else (a pre-conventional/childish/ethically undeveloped position according to Kohlberg).

i. It is based on a false premise regarding the source of happiness. – [it] “seems to be based on Western capitalists norms rather than on a transcultural description of human nature…as noted earlier, studies show that being involved in productive paid labor is not related to happiness” (p.227).