Psychological Egoism as a moral theory describes self-centeredness. Psychological Egoism is a belief that human behavior or conduct comes under the influence of self-interest and not community. Psychological Egoism holds a strong ground that all humans get motivated to act or perform certain duties only in pursuit of their own advantage and not for others. Where Ethical Egoism is that we ought to be happy for others when at the same time making our self's or own being happy. For me I think it starts with morality in a person.
Kant’s view uses a categorical imperative, in which ethics is based upon an absolute, objective, deontologcial theory, in which intentions are more important than consequences. Kant believed that an ethics should be based around something entirely good. He decided that the only thing entirely good in the whole universe is ‘good will’. Everybody must decide ethical decisions in a way in which they put themselves last, fulfill their duty, and commit only selfless acts. This may be psychologically impossible, as many believe there is always a selfish reason for any good deed, however Kant only proposed a theory, and
Explain the concept of moral self and personality in Libertarianism. Libertarianism is the view that we are free to act however we are morally responsible for all those actions. Moral self and personality are two important concepts in Libertarianism. Moral self is how we decide what is right and and personality is an empirical concept, it is influenced by psychological factors such as gene, society and environment. Personality and moral self explain how and why human beings make free choices.
On the other hand, a person’s superego is one’s conscious, which is a collection of moral lessons learned from parents, organized religion, and society. The superego wants the person to only do what is morally right at all times. The ego is the person’s sense of “self.” The ego is formed from reality when the person understands all of her instinctual desires are not able to be met. The ego is the mediator between the id’s and the superego’s wants and decides which desires the person will upon. The superego uses guilt to punish the ego if it misbehaves and rewards it with pride if does what the superego wants.
To remain receptive to the intuitive process, an individual must trust in himself. Emerson and Kant warn that conformity and consistency in one’s thinking and acting permits society to dictate an individual’s being; therefore undermining the notion of taking responsibility for one’s own mind. This in turn creates barriers the individual must overcome in order to reach enlightenment. In “Self-Reliance”, Emerson believes that the individual loses a part of himself by not being self sufficient enough to trust ones opinions. “A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within…In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty…They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good humored inflexibility…” (Emerson, 164) Emerson stresses not the substance of the ‘‘rejected thoughts’’, but their quality of ‘‘majesty’’ or greatness.
What is simple subjectivism? Explain and evaluate the two best objections to it. Simple subjectivism is a metaethical theory that poses that qualities such as good and bad are true relative to the individual; thus moral judgements are simply expressions of opinion. However, this does not mean that every sentence uttered is true, as someone may propose a claim that does not correctly report their internal, subjective state. Despite being a theory which seemingly encourages acceptance and moral rationality, subjectivism is deemed as flawed on two predominant levels.
I Definition This section will provide definitions of ethical theories, such as Deontology, Egoism, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Theory. Deontology (Kantianism) theory stipulates that people must decide for themselves what is rational. Personal desires outside of one’s principles are thought of as outside forces with the potential to thwart rationality. One who acts as a Kantian must be completely unwavering of these principles. Egoism is the ethical theory that people are largely consumed with their own self-interests, and all acts are pursued primarily out of self-interest and personal desires.
Some people believe that culture is a way that morality can be established, but morality differs from culture to culture. In Doing Ethics, Lewis Vaughn talks about cultural relativism and lays out an argument for it. In the second premise it states “If people’s judgments about right and wrong differ from culture to culture, then right and wrong are relative to culture, and there are no objective moral principles” (Vaughn 26). He makes it clear that he does not support this premise and explains his points as to why this is false. Cultural relativism is the idea that the moral principles someone has are solely determined by the culture one lives in.
Since every ethical system should evaluate itself as the best and only moral system, and every other system is flawed and immoral, it is assumed that moral judgements about ethical systems are meaningless. Moral Relativism rests on the belief that values are subjective. It is holds the belief that there is no objective morality, that there is no such thing as right or wrong, good or evil. Only that, moral systems are just made up and supported by the circumstances of the action. Moral Relativism cannot and does not accept the idea that an objective moral system exists.
Utilitarian Theories Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that places the locus of right and wrong solely on the outcomes (consequences) of choosing one action/policy over other actions/policies. As such, it moves beyond the scope of one's own interests and takes into account the interests of others. Bentham's Principle of Utility: (1) Recognizes the fundamental role of pain and pleasure in human life, (2) approves or disapproves of an action on the basis of the amount of pain or pleasure brought about i.e, consequences, (3) equates good with pleasure and evil with pain, and (4) asserts that pleasure and pain are capable of quantification (and hence 'measure'). In measuring pleasure and pain, Bentham introduces the following criteria: INTENSITY, DURATION, CERTAINTY (or UNCERTAINTY), and its NEARNESS (or FARNESS). He also includes its "fecundity" (will more of the same follow?)