What I want to do in this paper is to present the 3 different egoistic theories, explain them in brief , and then focus on psychological egoism, presenting its argument, responding to the different criticisms and see in the end if its thesis begs the question or not.
The human actions and motivations have been an issue which philosophers argued on. Several ethical theories were proposed in order to justify or explain the human actions. We can justify the human actions by claiming normativity “what one ought to do” and I can explain by claiming descriptive ethics “what one does do”. The explanatory claims are descriptive in position in which they present principles that can’t be broken like sociology and laws of science, while normative claims are justificatory in position that explains in a sense “one ought” thus generating duties. For this, three arguments for egoism were presented: The Psychological egoism, the ethical egoism or common sense morality in disguise and the rational egoism.
Ethical theories are theories that assigns fundamental role to self-interest. This fundamental role can be explanatory or justificatory. Rational egoism states that any act is rational if and only if it serves self-interest. It doesn’t say anything about moral acts, making it a non-moral theory.
Ethical egoism states that an act is good if and only if it serves self-interest. It is a normative theory holding that people ought to do what is in their self- interest
The problem with ethical egoism is that it doesn’t match our common sense morality, this can be explained by the following: Normally, people decide which moral theory is right depending on their moral intuitions and on their ethical judgments and in return,...
... middle of paper ...
...ersonal welfare.
As a conclusion, psychological egoism looks at human psychology and motivation and works in proving that all humans are egoistically motivated being against any other moral theory that includes altruistic or deontic behaviors. But this thesis has showed its weakness in self-sacrificing acts and being emasculated by answering that every action is egoistic from the perspective that every person do what he wanted to do making it trivially true. In this paper, I presented examples showing our egoism in our daily actions and shed the light on the weakness of the psychological egoism, offering a replacement of this theory called the predominant egoism.
Resources:
Shaver, Robert. "Egoism.", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2010 Edition), Edward N. Zalta , 04 Nov. 2002. 28 Mar. 2014 .
Adam Smith’s moral theory explains that there is an “impartial spectator” inside each of us that aids in determining what is morally and universally good, using our personal experiences and human commonalities. In order to judge our own actions, we judge and observe the actions of others, at the same time observing their judgments of us. Our impartial spectator efficiently allows us to take on two perceptions at once: one is our own, determined by self-interest, and the other is an imaginary observer. This paper will analyze the impartiality of the impartial spectator, by analyzing how humans are motivated by self-interest.
We have studied the two major theories that answer the question, “who should I be?”. These theories are egoism and altruism. In this paper, I will argue that the correct moral theory lies in-between the theories of egoism and altruism.
The ego lies within the conscious and unconscious realm and seeks to satisfy the id’s
Philosophy has been a field of study for centuries. Some philosophers have developed ways to determine what is ethical and what is not. This has led to several normative ethical theories describing how people are ought to live a moral life. Some of the most prominent of these theories have set the criteria for morality in very unique and peculiar ways. Two of which are the ethical egoistic theory and the utilitarian theory, each seeing morality in its own distinctive way. By comparing and contrasting the view these theories pose on morality and by analyze how each stands in some of the world’s most modern day issues, one can understand why utilitarianism is a
Ethical Egoism A rear assumption is that the needs and happiness of other people will always affect our moral ethics. If we accept this assumption, we think that our moral ethics balance our self-interest against that of others. It is true, that “What is morally right or wrong depends not only on how it makes us feel, but also how it affects others”. The idea that each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively to do in his lifetime for others is known as Ethical Egoism.
• Once more, the ordinary science’ proves itself as the master of classification, inventing and defining the various categories of Egoism. Per example, psychological egoism, which defines doctrine that an individual is always motivated by self-interest, then rational egoism which unquestionably advocates acting in self-interest. Ethical egoism as diametrically opposite of ethical altruism which obliges a moral agent to assist the other first, even if sacrifices own interest. Also, ethical egoism differs from both rational and psychological egoism in ‘defending’ doctrine which considers all actions with contributive beneficial effects for an acting individual
Freud, S., & Strachey, J. (19621960). The Ego and the Super-ego. The ego and the id (pp. 19-20). New York: Norton.
Ego identity is said to be one of the many things Erickson has focused on. He believed that through social interaction we gain mindful sense of ourselves, which can be commonly referred to as Ego identity. Although, Freud referred to the ego as the match over the necessities of the identity and superego, Erickson saw the ego as our way of our self-esteem. The way Erickson describes ego is the way we commonly use it in conversation. The main i...
Porus, V. N. "Identity of the Ego: Conflicting Interpretations." Cultural-Historical Psychology 3 (2011): 27-35. Print.
Egoism is a teleological theory of ethics that sets the ultimate criterion of morality in some nonmoral value (i.e. happiness or welfare) that results from acts (Pojman 276). It is contrasted with altruism, which is the view that one's actions ought to further the interests or good of other people, ideally to the exclusion of one's own interests (Pojman 272). This essay will explain the relation between psychological egoism and ethical egoism. It will examine how someone who believes in psychological egoism explains the apparent instances of altruism. And it will discuss some arguments in favor of universal ethical egoism, and exam Pojman's critque of arguments for and against universal ethical egoism.
Throughout time, many psychologists have had their own views about different theories. Theories direct and guide our perception of thinking. The similarities and differences can be broken down through different forms of development by Erik Erikson, Sigmund Freud, and Albert Bandura. Sigmund Freud emphasized the influence of the id, believing that the ego acts only out of borrowed energy and acts best as a commander. Sigmund Freud perceived aggression as a universal human behavior. According to Freud, we, humans are unaware of its presence because we are suppressed by the superego. In Erikson’s theory, he explains how the ego is the part of the mind that gives coherence to experiences, conscious or unconscious. Erikson agreed with Freud that the ego is responsible for human behavior and aggression. On the other hand, social learning theorist Albert Bandura suggests that behavior is learned through observation either accidentally or on purpose. This paper examines how Erikson’s psychoanalytic theory of the Ego compares and contrast to Bandura’s social learning theory.
...o two parts: conscience and ego ideal. Conscience tells what is right and wrong, and forces the ego to inhibit the id in pursuit of morally acceptable, not pleasurable or even realistic, goals. The ego ideal aims the individual's path of life toward the ideal, perfect goals instilled by society. In the pursuit, the mind attempts to make up for the loss of the perfect life experienced as a baby." (Stevenson D, 1966)
Ethical egoism can be a well-debated topic about the true intention of an individual when he or she makes an ethical decision. Max Stirner brings up a very intriguing perspective in writing, The Ego and its Own, regarding ethical egoism. After reading his writing some questions are posed. For example, are human beings at the bottom? Following Wiggins and Putnam, can we rise above our egoism and truly be altruistic? And finally, if we are something, do we have the capacity to rise to a level that we can criticize and transcend our nature? These questions try to establish whether or not we are simple humans, bound to our intrinsic nature, or far more intellectually advanced than we allow ourselves to be.
EGO: The ego is one of the personality components which are responsible for dealing with reality. The ego develops from the id and it can be expressed to the real world. The ego function s both in conscious, preconscious and unconscious mind. It is based on the reality principle which struggle to satisfy desires of the ids.
The first feature, the id, feature of personality is the most common and everlasting element that exists since birth. It is completely unconsciousness and consists of natural and original behavior. As it is the main element of personality, id is considered the main source of psychic energy. According to Freud id is compelled by pleasure principle, which attempts for immediate satisfaction of desires and needs. It will result in a state of anxiety or strain if the needs are not satisfied immediately. Secondly, the ego is a component of personality in charge of dealing with reality. As stated by Freud, the ego progresses from Id and confirms the desires of the id, articulated in an acceptable manner in real life. The main function of ego is to handle conscious, preconscious and unconscious mind. It helps to satisfy needs of id in a socially suitable way. Besides, it supports to release tension with assistance of a process where an object found in reality is created by id’s p...