Ethical Egoism Essay

433 Words2 Pages
ETHICAL EGOISM ¿Should we believe that ethical egoism is the right theory to follow? Before answering this question we must define what ethical egoism is. This theory establishes the fact that each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest. It is the famous “morality of selfishness.” But how do we know this is the concept we must apply when deciding between helping others and looking only for us. First of all, we must make a differentiation between Ethical egoism and Physiological Egoism. In the firs one talks about that people ought to act in a self-interesting way, and the second one is the fact tat people act in a self-interesting way. Even though sometimes we fell that we should do things for others, the theory of ethical egoism is accepted because it is not promoting personal interests over others interests. There are some arguments that help support this idea. One of the most important arguments is the Argument that altruism is self-defeating. It states that we ought to do whatever will best promote everyone’s interests. The best way to promote everyone’s interests is for each of us to pursue our own interests exclusively. Therefore, each of us should pursue our own interests exclusively. Another point that supports Ethical egoism is that each person has only one life to live. If we value the individual, then we must agree that this life is of supreme importance. After all, it is all one has, and all one is. The ethics of altruism regards the life of the individual as something that may be sacrificed for the good of others. Therefore, the ethics of altruism does not take seriously the value of the individual. Also there are points that disagree with Ethical Egoism. An example of this is the Argument That states that Ethical Egoism Is Logically Inconsistent. This argument argues that Ethical Egoism cannot be correct, on purely logical
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