Aristotle bases his arguments on Hedonism in the fact that happiness comes from fulfilling our nature, and human nature is rooted in excellence. He states that the "highest good must be something final" (Nichomachean Ethics 200) He describes the inherent good for all of mankind is happiness and fulfilling our virtues in an excellent way. The two kinds of virtue that Aristotle points out is intellectual virtue(divine) and moral virtue(generosity and self control). There are also two counterparts of the human psyche, divine reason and animal desire. Aristotle says that we as humans need to find a middle ground for our emotions to

If we take religion for example, there are hundreds of different types of religion, and just as many different gods that people may choose to worship. There may be an underlying right and wrong, but one persons god may say polygamy is acceptable( Mormonism), while another religion says that polygamy is a sin. And that example is very relevant even in today's modern society, and happening right now in the United States. This shows me that religion is subjective. There is no logical connection between religion, but yet there is a very strong psychological connection between them. There is another part to religion and morality, the Theory of Natural Law. This theory states that all laws are rooted in nature and moral law is written into our hearts by God and read by reason. Everything in nature has a purpose and this purpose comes from God himself. There are several problems with this theory, but the quote that I found to best refute the idea of Natural Law is this:

A mix a psychological egoism and ethical egoism may be the ideal form of egoism. As far as the social contract theory goes, I found several problems with this theory. Who decides the moral laws? And even more important is how do we interpret these laws? Another question that came to my mind after reading the section on social contract was are there any circumstances under which the moral laws can be broken, and if so what are these circumstances? In the social contract theory, there is no moral consideration for animals as well as people who are unable to agree to the contract such as the mentally retarded and persons with other disabilities inhibiting there being able to agree. After I took all of these problems into consideration, I found the social contract theory to not make much sense, but then again, if Hobbes had his way, we would all be living in a 21st century police state.

According to Rachels, psychological egoists are determined to interpret the behavior of all human beings in a particular way. Because if this, the idea of psychological egoism becomes irrefutable, but at the same time loses all relevance. Psychological egoism tends to make even the slightest action look as if it is a selfish act of nature, and therefore leaving no room for improvement. This is the fatal flaw of psychological egoism.

Neitzsche, one of the greatest philosophical writers of all time presents several different topics in his selection. His ideas of master versus slave morality is somewhat shocking in places, stating that the master is the farthest removed from morality, and the slave may be easily deceived and stupid. He is an ethical egoist who states that altruism will eventually stop individuality and the weak will be sacrificed by the strong and powerful. His styles of writing are not easily ignored, his strong use language and religious undertones, such as the hatred of slave morality and Jesus Christ, makes Neitzsche a highly controversi

Some common words found in the essay are:
According Rachels, James Rachels, Jesus Christ, Natural Law, Webster's Dictionary, Jerry Falwell, Nichomachean Ethics, Egoism Egoism, Hedonism Aristotle, Stuart Mills, social contract, psychological egoism, ethical egoism, social contract theory, contract theory, happiness pleasure, james rachels, human nature, intrinsic value, egoism ethical egoism, jerry falwell, question mind, psychological egoism ethical,
Approximate Word count = 1969
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)