PHIL 2525
Lecture 9
Is me-first all right?
READING QUIZ…



What’s the difference between Ethical Egoism
and Psychological Egoism? (2 marks)
The statement that “we do what makes us feel
good” supports which of the above?
(1 mark)
Who is Raoul Wallenberg? (2 marks)
READING QUIZ…

4. Ayn Rand is a proponent of which of the
theories referred to in question 1? (1 mark)

5. Explain Garrett Hardin’s thesis in the lifeboat
article. (3 marks)

6. According to Rachels, Ethical Egoism is
‘unacceptably arbitrary’ in the same way that
__________ is ‘unacceptably arbitrary.’ (1 mark)
Halloween at the
Campbellford Legion...





Thought crime?
Racist?
Insensitive?
Clueless?
Harmless fun?
Prince Harry





Anti-Semitic?
Disgusting?
Insensitive?
Bad taste?
Plain stupid?
Pink Shirt Day

Shepherd and Price bought 50 pink shirts and
brought them to school in solidarity with
another youth who was bullied for wearing a
pink polo shirt...

The last Wednesday
of February is
Pink Shirt Day
Pink Shirt Day

Shepherd and Price bought 50 pink shirts and
brought them to school in solidarity with
another youth who was bullied for wearing a
pink polo shirt...

The last Wednesday
of February is
Pink Shirt Day
Difference between Egoist and Egotist

Egoist: thinking that your purpose in life is to
look out for yourself – there is no obligation to
look out for any one else – in fact, it would be
morally wrong

Egotist: thinking that you’re the best thing
since sliced bread
“The achievement of
his own happiness is
man’s highest moral
purpose.” Ayn Rand

"What shall we do and how shall we live?
According to Plato and Tolstoy and other
reliable observers, this is our most important
question! We should not trust any philosophy
that makes this question appear foolish."
[Peter Singer, The Player and the Cards: Nihilism and Legal
Theory, 94 Yale L. J. 1, 3 (1984)]
5.1: Is there a duty
to help starving people?
 WHAT
A QUESTION!
More than 27,000 children die every
day from preventable causes
964 (550) dead children for every one
of us in this classroom…every day
Matthew 25:40
"I was hungry and you
fed me; I was thirsty
and you gave me
drink... truly I say to
you, as you did it to
one of the least of
these my brethren, you
did it unto me."
Artist:
Kathe Kollwitz
Egoism versus Altruism

Psychological approaches
are descriptive

Egoism: All acts are
basically selfish
Altruism: Some of our
acts are ‘naturally’
altruistic


Ethical approaches
are prescriptive

Egoism: You ought
to be selfish
Altruism: You ought
to be altruistic

5.2: Is altruism possible?
 We
always do
what we
most want to
do….p.65

Psychological
Egoism…
Psychological
Egoism?
We always do
what makes us
feel good...p. 66
Rachels question:
 The strategy of reinterpreting motives?
We always do
what makes us
feel good...p. 66
Sometimes there’s
more than one
motive...
Altruism
An aside...

If every action is, indeed, selfish, what can
unselfish mean?

And if unselfish doesn’t mean anything, what
can selfish mean?

Why do we have those words?
5.3: Ethical Egoism
Me first? Me only?

Looking out for yourself doesn’t mean not
helping others...

Looking out for yourself doesn’t mean you get
to do whatever you want no matter what...
5.3: Arguments for Ethical Egoism

1. Altruism is self-defeating

2. Ayn Rand’s argument

3. Ethical Egoism as compatible with
‘commonsense’ morality
5.4: Arguments against
Ethical Egoism

1. It endorses wicked actions when they
promote self-interest

2. It’s logically inconsistent

3. It is unacceptably arbitrary
Ayn Rand
essence of my philosophy
(while standing on one foot)…




1. Metaphysics:
2. Epistemology:
3. Ethics:
4. Politics:
Objective Reality
Reason
Self-interest
Capitalism

“The achievement of
his own happiness is
man’s highest moral
purpose.”
Ayn Rand


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=7ukJiBZ8_4k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=pMTDaVpBPR0&feature=related

Ayn Rand, born in
Russia, was
interviewed in the
March 1964 issue
From the Playboy interview...

PLAYBOY:
As one who champions the cause of enlightened selfinterest, how do you feel about dedicating one's life to
hedonistic self-gratification?

RAND:
I am profoundly opposed to the philosophy of hedonism.
Hedonism is the doctrine which holds that the good is
whatever gives you pleasure and, therefore, pleasure is the
standard of morality. Objectivism holds that the good must
be defined by a rational standard of value, that pleasure is
not a first cause, but only a consequence, that only the
pleasure which proceeds from a rational value judgment
can be regarded as moral...
From the Playboy interview...

PLAYBOY:
Would it be against the principles of Objectivism for
anyone to sacrifice himself by stepping in front of a bullet
to protect another person?

RAND:
No. It depends on the circumstances. I would step in the
way of a bullet if it were aimed at my husband. It is not selfsacrifice to die protecting that which you value: If the value
is great enough, you do not care to exist without it. This
applies to any alleged sacrifice for those one loves.
Garrett Hardin: Lifeboat Ethics
Freedom in a commons
brings ruin to all.
Possible solutions:
 Privatization: divide it up and everyone manages
their part.
 Socialism: appoint someone and give them the
power to manage the whole thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8gAMFTAt2M
Next week:

On to the Social Contract....what do we owe
each other and why? Where does society come
from?

Sample questions for the midterm test
Attendance Question: