Introduction to Philosophy

Achieve Test Prep: Philosophy

Arguments against Egoism James Rachels was a moral philosopher who wrote influential articles on applied ethics, especially euthanasia and animal rights. In his writings from Egoism and Moral Skepticism , he provides a systematic critique of both the psychological and ethical egoism views. We first look at his analysis of psychological egoism where he makes the following arguments his first argument states whatever choices people make, they are always doing what they most want to do. He then proposes two counterarguments to this: • We often do things we do not want to do because we have made a promise or feel an obligation. • Even if we derive some satisfaction from giving up something to help someone else this is what is mean to act unselfishly- acting to promote someone else’s interests, not just your own. The criteria for determining if an action is selfish or unselfish is the object or consequence of the action, not the satisfaction it brings to the person initiating it. We know look at Rachel’s analysis of the underlying confusion that accounts for persistence of this view: • It is false to believe that selfishness means the same thing as self-interest. • It is false to say that every action is done either from self-interest or from other regarding motives. • It is false to assume that a concern for one’s own welfare is incompatible with any genuine concern for the welfare of others. Rachels then proceeds to discuss ethical egoism, which is the theory that we ought to pursue our own self-interest and that the ethical egoist believe that pursuing one’s self-interest is a universal moral value and believe that as long as everyone follows the principles of rationality, that conflicts in self-interest will work themselves out in a harmonious fashion. Rachels disapproves of the ethical egoism by his statement, “Indeed, a man without any sympathy at all would scarcely be recognizable as a man.” What he states is that the belief of this theory is the central purpose of government is to protect each individual’s right to personal liberty in a way that does not infringe on others. Rachels states that the ethical egoist are simply stating that they have no affection for friends or family, that they never feel pity or compassion, that they are the sort of person who can look at scenes of human misery with complete indifference, so long as they are not the one suffering. Rachels states that this theory if inhumane.

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