Ethical Egoism

A detailed Summary of Ethical Egoism


Egoism : Develop the criticism that ethical egoism is an inadequate moral theory because it does not resolve moral conflicts. Recall that ethical egoism simply denies that theories must do this.

I will be arguing that ethical egoism is an inadequate moral theory because it does not resolve moral conflicts. I will first give you the basic background information on ethical egoism as well as information about egoism required to see the flaw in it. Then I will discuss the hole in ethical egoism that makes it an inadequate theory.

To fully understand the flaw in ethical egoism you must first know certain principles behind ethical egoism. Ethical egoism is a normative theory which means it states how we ought to act. There are two types of ethical egoism; individual ethical egoism and universal ethical egoism. I will be referring to universal ethical egoism in the rest of the paper. Universal ethical egoism states that everyone should or ought to look out for themselves and their own best interest. It also says that one should only help others when it benefits themselves in the long run. It states that in any conflict, instead of reaching a compromise, each person should reach their own best interest. It is the opposite of altrui


sm which states that everyone should dedicate their lives to helping others whereas ethical egoism states that everyone should lookout for themselves.

In conclusion, ethical egoism is not a valid moral theory because it does not reach compromise in moral disagreements. It leads to endless conflicts. Ethical egoism states that everyone must look out for their own best interests which is impossible to do. I have given two reasons why egoism fails solving conflicts; one is that when there is a conflict all parties are always looking out for their own interests and the conflicts never cease and the second was that the one party that eventually comes out on top in any given conflict will always have committed an act that is both morally right because he has reached his best interests and morally wrong because of its effect on stopping the other parties from reaching their best interests. Therefore ethical egoism is a moral theory that has an inconsistency. It can not solve any moral conflicts that arise which is a basis that all moral theories must do.

The problem that arises from ethical egoism is that everyone cannot always look out for their own best interests. It is like a chess game in which one person has the opportunity to block the others check, which is in his best inter

Some common words found in the essay are:
Egoism Develop, ethical egoism, moral theory, egoism valid, ethical egoism valid, egoism valid ethical, valid ethical theory, moral conflicts, universal ethical, valid ethical, ethical theory, universal ethical egoism, theory resolve moral, chess game, struggle person, leads endless,

Approximate Word count = 868
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • Ethics Ethical egoism is a system of creating a morality based not only on oneamp39s actions, but oneamp39s beliefs about those actions. A personamp39s ... 575 words
  • Moral Philosophy ... Egoism can be broken down into two parts: psychological egoism and ethical egoism. ... In a different section, Rachels takes a look at ethical egoism. ... 1969 words
  • Jeffersonamp39s World ... Ethical egoism made him ampquothold his truths to be selfevident.ampquot Our culture has developed through time. ... He was living in a time of Ethical Egoism. ... 1317 words
  • Pharmacists and the Pill ... In addition, some proponents of ethical egoism believe that failing to promote one\amp39s selfinterest is immoral, while other proponents believe that it can ... 2734 words
  • 38 Witnesses ... involvement. This situation helps explain the concepts of Ethical Egoism. Itamp39s ... Which just helps to justify the ethical egoism concept. They all ... 1158 words

Professional Essays

  • Theory of Ethical Egoism The purpose of this research is to examine the philosophical position of ethical egoism as presented by Barbara MacKinnon and Ayn Rand, as a viable ethical ... 2460 words
  • MacKinnon ampamp Ayn Rand on Ethical Egoism The philosophical position of ethical egoism as presented by Barbara MacKinnon and Ayn Rand, as a viable ethical theory. The plan ... 2452 words
  • Ethical Theories ampamp Moral Dilemmas ... Rachels describes Ethical Egoism as ampquotthe idea that each person ought to pursue his or her own selfinterest exclusivelyampquot Rachels 83. ... 1841 words
  • Moral Issues ... Ethical egoism, similarly, is concerned with ampquotwhat we ought to doampquot and ampquothow we ought to actampquot 37 particularly in the context of perceived future benefits to ... 1590 words
  • Analysis of Hedonism ... Best Argument in Defense of Theory Although hedonism can be considered as simply an aspect of ethical egoism, there are a number of variations within hedonism ... 2348 words
  • Amoralism ... has to negotiate established definitions to find his own way: ethical objectivism, ethical subjectivism, ethical relativism, ethical egoism, and ethical ... 1017 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.