Ethics

Ethics Study Guide Ethical egoism is the normative theory that the promotion of self-interests in accordance with morality is best. People ought to do what is in their own good. Individual ethical egoism states that one ought to be concerned only with one’s interests, and one should be concerned about others only to the extent that the concern contributes to one’s interests. Universal ethical egoism holds that everyone ought to look out for and seek after their own best interests, helping others only when it is in their own best interests to do so. 3.2 Contractarianism Another normative moral theory that can be considered a form of egoism is contractarianism . The term applies to moral theories that focus on self-interest and denote a real or hypothetical agreement between a group and its members. All members of a society are assumed to agree to the terms of the social contract by their choice to stay within the society. Moral norms get their normative power from this mutual agreement. The best social rules are those we would accept if we chose rationally. The context in which we choose is society, so each person must make his/her choices depending on what others will do and in cooperation with them. Contractarians feel that moral and political authority should not be automatically grounded in concepts such as divine will or faith in the goodness of human nature. Social Contract Theory was introduced by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1762, advancing ideas from Hobbes and Locke, who preceded him. According to Rousseau, a person who does what is in his/her own highest interest is doing what he/she wants. A person who does what he/she wants is free. In organized human society, there are times when our interests and wants are in conflict. Therefore, because we value our lives, we sign the Social Contract and obey it until our lives are threatened by it. A society geared to do what is best will retain everyone’s freedoms (in slightly different forms), which are enjoyed so perfectly in the state of Nature. He held that society, which was created through a first, unanimous contract, carries the true will of the people, which is the General Will . The General Will is distinct from the State, a product of a majority vote, which can only give us the Will of All. Therefore, the General Will is nothing other than the repository of everyone’s free choice. If forced to conform to it, a person is only forced to be free. The idea of the social contract was revived in the 20th century by the philosopher John Rawls, who was concerned with the issue of fairness and social justice. He believed in a system in which social cooperation is followed by a form of established government. In advance, the members of this hypothetical society are to decide what is acceptable, determining the principles of justice. To remain objective, people should aspire to make choices for society as if behind a veil of ignorance , a state of naïveté that prevents them from knowing their own social and economic positions in society, which allows for judgments that are impartial. This would prevent each party from choosing the principles of justice that only benefitted themselves. ©2018 Achieve Page 21 of 116