Ethical Issues
Ethical Egoism

Boss: “Ethical egoism differs from ethical
subjectivism because it is concerned with a
person’s best self-interest. Our best selfinterests are those that are rational. Ethical
subjectivism, in contrast, asks only what
people desire or feel is right for them. The
ethical egoist identifies happiness with the
pursuit of rational self-interest.”
Egoism vs. Egotism

Boss: “Egoism is not the same as egotism.
An egotist is a person who is arrogant,
boastful, inconsiderate, and self-centered.
Egotistical behavior is not necessarily in
one’s best self-interest because egotists tend
to alienate others and, by doing so, limit
their opportunities for happiness.”
The Main Thing

The main thing to keep in mind is that
egoism is rational and thus thoughtful,
whereas egotism is immature and hasty, and
therefore, not necessarily helpful.
What Socrates Said

Egotism ignores the needs of others, while egoism
simply reorders needs so that you take care of
yourself first. Even the great “Socrates
acknowledged that it’s morally acceptable for
people to act in ways that benefit themselves. In
fact, Socrates argues that being just benefits a
person more than being unjust. However, he also
argues that justice is good in and of itself,
independent of its benefit to the just man (Boss).”
Types of Egoism

Boss: “There are two main types of egoism:
ethical egoism and psychological egoism. Ethical
egoism is a normative theory about how things
ought to be. We ought to act in the way that is in
our own best self-interest. Psychological egoism,
in contrast, is a descriptive theory about how
things are.”
Psychological Egoism

Psychological egoism gives an explanation that
allows us to understand why some people do
things to themselves that are actually harmful
rather than in their own best interest. They do so
because the immediate benefit seems to outweigh
any future benefit. The correct way to change or
modify destructive behavior, according to egoists,
is to simply inform and educate.
Growth and Development

When we are very little we see the world only in
terms of ourselves. Psychologists can study this in
child development. One of the things they look for
is growth and development as a child matures.
Egoism explains many of a child’s motivations.
There is no question about that. The real question
is whether or not it is an adequate explanation for
adult motivation.
Ethical Egoism

Boss: “The current popularity of ethical egoism
has been fueled by the work of American novelist,
screenwriter, and philosopher Ayn Rand (19051982). Rand defended a version of ethical egoism
that she called ‘objectivist ethics.’”
Ayn Rand (1905-1982)

She was a great admirer of American freedom and
independence. She thought the freedom we enjoy
to find success or failure was the best system
under which to practice ethical egoism. While
some people saw the American celebration of selfinterest as a problem, she saw it as one of our
crowning glories.
Objective Reality

Boss: “According to Rand, there is no source of
values other than objective reality - hence, her
term objectivist ethics. Rand maintained that we
value that which helps us survive, and that which
helps us survive is what is in our own selfinterest.”
Reason is Essential

Boss: “Rand adopted what first appears to be an
Aristotelian view of human nature; she argued that
reason sets us apart from all other species.
According to both Rand and Aristotle, reason is
essential for our survival as humans. Because
reason is necessary for survival, reason has moral
value for humans. Therefore, we ought to act in a
rational manner. According to Rand, to behave
irrationally is to behave immorally.”
Social Creatures by Nature?

Rand did not follow Aristotle in his thinking about
ethics. While they both agreed that humanity was
rational by nature, Aristotle taught that we were
also social creatures by nature, and Rand did not
agree with this.
Concept of Rationality


Boss: Rand’s concept of rationality counsels us to,
“1. Be independent. Live by the work of your own
mind, 2. Have integrity. Don’t sacrifice your
convictions to the opinions of others, 3. Be honest.
Don’t fake reality, 4. Be just. Neither seek nor give
that which is unearned or undeserved.
Rand assumed that any rational person would
accept her list of virtues and what she called the
supreme value of productive work.”
A Fair Trade

Rand recognized that sometimes it was in our
interest to help others, but only when they could
help us in return. There had to be a fair trade.
Anything less than a fair trade would not be just,
and thus, would actually be an insult to the dignity
of the other person.
Altruism and Compassion

Boss: “Altruism and compassion are vices, Rand
argued, because all altruism is based on selfsacrifice and demands by others to give them
something that they have neither earned nor
deserve. Altruists are willing to sacrifice their lives
and interests to benefit others. This attitude not
only turns the giver into an object; it also turns the
receiver into a parasite.”
Adam Smith (1723-1790)

Boss: “Scottish economist and moral philosopher
Adam Smith laid out the foundations of laissezfaire capitalism in his book Wealth of Nations. The
best society, he argued, is one where everyone is
allowed the freedom to pursue their own selfinterest in the marketplace. Smith’s book, which
was published in 1776, had a profound effect on
the founding fathers of the United States.”
Is Capitalism Moral?

Boss: “There is no doubt that capitalism, as an
economic system, has produced massive wealth
and technological advancement. Because
capitalism is successful in raising the overall
wealth and productivity, does that mean it’s
moral? Both Marxist and liberation ethicists argue
that it’s possible to have a successful economic
system that raises the gross national product and
productivity but that’s nevertheless unjust.”
Philosophy of the Elite

Boss: “Marxists claim that, rather than promoting
the interests of the majority, capitalism benefits
only a few at the expense of the many. Ethical
egoism, therefore, is not a philosophy of ‘humans
qua human,’ as Rand claimed, but according to
Marxists, a philosophy of the elite.”
A Free-Market Economy

Boss: “Marxists, on the other hand, point out that
people’s talents and their ability to trade skills and
goods in a free-market economy vary enormously.
Poverty, lack of access to resources, poor health,
and social discrimination are only a few of the
factors that place certain people at a distinct
disadvantage.”
Opportunity and Access

Boss: “Women, in particular, have suffered in a
capitalist system because much of women’s labor,
especially that which is based on caring and
communal values, is unremunerated and
undervalued. Patriarchal social structures also
limit women’s opportunities and access to
resources and high-paying jobs.”
Individual and Social
Responsibility

Boss: “Both Rand’s theory of ethical egoism and
the critics of capitalism offer important insights.
Rand emphasized the importance of individual
responsibility; Marxists and liberation ethicists
remind us of the importance of social
responsibility. However, an adequate moral theory
must consider and integrate both the individual
and social aspects of morality.”
Capitalism and Marxism

Boss: “Although capitalists are not necessarily
greedy or exploitive, an egoist ethics offers no
reason or incentive for people not to pursue their
own ends at the expense of others. On the other
hand, an ethical theory like Marxism, which for
the most part ignores the individual, can just as
surely create a sense of alienation by swallowing
up individual interests and goals into the concept
of the good of the community.”
Self-Love and Self-Interest

Boss: “By pointing out the importance of selflove, Rand provided an important corrective to
moral ideologies that glorify self-sacrifice and
putting the needs of others first. However, by
universalizing egoism as a moral principle - rather
than seeing it as a stage in our moral development
- we remain forever stunted at the preconventional
level of moral reasoning. Indeed, most egoists are
trapped in their own self interest - shut away from
the richness of the wider moral community.”
A Seed

Boss: “Egoism and concern for our own wellbeing become integrated into the higher stages of
moral development rather than being discarded
when we move on to later stages. Egoism, in other
words, is not the goal of morality, as ethical
egoists claim; it is the seed from which our moral
community grows to become more and more
inclusive.”
Communitarians

Boss: “Communitarians regard the democratic
community as the basis of ethics. The human
community - which encompasses community
decisions, social conventions, and historic and
religious traditions - rather than the individual,
defines the moral community.”
Individualism

Modern democratic societies have placed a great
deal of emphasis on individualism. But there are
alternative views. Many of the great mystical
systems, for example, teach that our sense of being
alone, individual and separate from others, is one
of the great delusions that needs to be overcome
through spiritual practices such as meditation.
A Moral Theory

Boss: “We need a moral theory that can take both
individual dignity and the value of community
into account.”
The Hedonist Paradox

Boss: “James Rachels argues that by having
individual happiness as its only goal, ethical
egoism becomes self-defeating. This phenomenon
is known as the hedonist paradox. If we try to
pursue only our own happiness, we are often left
feeling frustrated and alienated. Individual
happiness seems to be more often the by-product
of other activities than a goal in itself.”
No Moral Guidelines

Boss: “Ethical egoism provides no guidelines for
resolving conflicts of interest between people. In a
world of limited resources and opportunities,
people’s self-interests sometimes come into
conflict. When this happens, ethical egoism is
unable to provide any moral guidelines for
resolving the conflict.”
Arbitrariness

Boss: “Ethical egoism is arbitrary. While it may be
true, as Rand claims, that we cannot truly value
others without first valuing ourselves, it does not
follow from this that we should habitually put our
interests above those of others. By doing so the
ethical egoist violates the principle that all people
have equal dignity.”
Devastating Effects

Boss: “The devastating effects of this ideology on
the people and nations that are not in positions of
economic power, however, are becoming more
and more evident with the increasing
accumulation of wealth and social goods in the
hands of fewer and fewer people and the
destruction of the environment in the name of
economic progress.”
Social Beings

Boss: “Ethical egoism fails to take into account
that we are social beings who exist only as part of
a wider community. We do not exist as isolated
individuals who can act independently of social
constraints. There are times when self-denial may
be called for, such as saving a drowning child
without first negotiating to see what is in it for
us.”
The Right Path

Boss: “It may sometimes be right to pursue our
own self-interest. But, in general, the right path
consists of choosing the medium between these
two extremes. The association of the moral life
and happiness with seeking the mean is also found
in Aristotle’s philosophy.”
Balancing our Needs

Boss: “The idea that morality does not require
putting our interests aside but balancing our needs
with those of others is also a central theme in
Carol Gilligan’s theory regarding moral reasoning
and moral maturity.”
People at Their Best?

Boss: “Ethical egoism inhibits moral development.
Rand believed that capitalism would encourage
people to be their moral best. However, studies
have shown that this is not the case. A business
education in the United States and the
socialization process within U.S. business firms
actually tend to inhibit and even decrease a
person’s level of moral reasoning rather than
attract people of high moral integrity.”
Wishful Thinking Fallacy

There is a fallacy discussed in critical thinking
called the wishful thinking fallacy. This means we
take something as true because we wish it to be
true, rather than because we have evidence
backing up its truth. Just because we want to
believe capitalism - or communism, for that matter
- brings out the best in people, we still need to
read and study and look at the evidence. Is it true?
Overcoming Egoism and
Self-Interest

Boss: “In many Eastern philosophies, the moral
life is not identified with denying the individual
self or ego, nor with pursuing rational self-interest
or productive labor. Many schools of Eastern
ethics, in particular, emphasize overcoming
egoism and self-interest as a virtue and the path to
true happiness.”
Moral Maturity

Boss: “Moral maturity is viewed in terms of going
beyond the self - the diffusing of the one or
individual ego into the One, the I am into the I
AM. According to these philosophies, we are all
part of the same web of life - the same great ‘self’
- rather than separate, isolated beings.”
Utilitarians

What were the utilitarians trying to do? They
wanted to apply the principles of empiricism
(which worked so well in science) to ethical and
political issues.
Find Pleasure/Avoid Pain

When you look at all of the things that motivate us
in our lives and break down these reasons as far as
you can go, you discover that we are trying to find
pleasure and avoid pain.
Jeremy Bentham

Boss: Jeremy Bentham’s contribution is that he
taught “that hedonism doesn’t have to be egoistic;
it can be social. That is, one can (and should) be
motivated to act in the name of the pleasure of
others as well as for one’s own pleasure.”
Social Hedonism


Boss: “Bentham’s social hedonism is reflected in
his most famous maxim, ‘the greatest amount of
happiness for the greatest number’ (where
‘happiness’ is defined in terms of pleasure)”.
Pleasure isn’t simply sensual enjoyment.
Primarily, it is the absence of pain and anxiety.
Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is sometimes called
“consequentialism” because the emphasis is on the
consequences of our actions. It is the results that
count, it is the results that make something
morally right or wrong.
Universal Laws?

For Immanuel Kant, the value of a moral act
depended on the rational question of whether our
acts could be made into universal laws for all
people to follow all of the time. In other words, it
was our intentions that counted, not the results of
our actions.
Kant and Bentham

Both Kant and Bentham give us some important
clues to how to make important decisions, but they
also both leave problems. What we really need is
an ethics that incorporates both views, which is, in
fact, what most of us do, whether we know it or
not.
The Calculus of Felicity



Boss: Bentham taught that utilitarian ethics could
be looked at mathematically and he called this
‘The calculus of felicity.’ One had to study
pleasure scientifically and if one did, then you
would come up with seven questions representing
seven categories:
“1. Intensity: How intense is the pleasure?
2. Duration: How long does the pleasure last?”
“Calculus”, continued






Boss:
“3. Certainty: How sure is the pleasure?
4. Proximity: How soon will the pleasure be
experienced?
5. Fecundity: How many more pleasures will
follow in the train of this pleasure?
6. Purity: How free from pain is this pleasure?
7. Extent: How many people will experience the
pleasure?”
John Stuart Mill

According to the one vote per person rule, the
greatest happiness of the greater number might
very well lead to the lowest common denominator.
John Stuart Mill came to the conclusion that some
pleasures are more desirable and more valuable
than others, and only those who have knowledge
of both will be allowed to vote.
Realistic?

Is it realistic to vote on all of these issues; and, is
everyone’s vote, informed or not, of equal value?
Another Way?

If people will support football stadiums but not art
galleries, should we just accept that as the
democratic way, or do we want to find another
way of allocating funds? These are not easy
questions, and their difficulty helps us understand
why living in a democracy can be so tough.
Principle of Liberty

Boss: Mill’s ‘principle of liberty’ states, “…the
only purpose for which power can be rightfully
exercised over any member of a civilized
community, against his will, is to prevent harm to
others.”
Love of Liberty

The problem with Mill’s love of liberty is knowing
where to draw the line between our public and
private lives.
Hands-Off!

Mill also influenced economics. His hands off
policy basically said the government should stay
out of regulation and control, unless required by
some great good, and instead let the law of supply
and demand take its natural course.
Promote Equality

How do we promote equality and, at the same
time, only have the educated and the informed
take part in the voting?
Not Quantifiable

One difficulty is in how we determine what
happiness is. It seems that Bentham thought there
might be a “calculus of happiness,” some
quantitative way to determine what is best, but
John Stuart Mill and many others have shown that
that is not possible.
Predicting Consequences

There is a problem of predicting consequences.
We do have our past experience to guide us, but
nevertheless, the future is still unknown.
Utilitarians might argue that they are not required
to know exact consequences, but simply must
make the best decision possible given the
knowledge that they do have.
Consequences and Intentions

There is also a problem with dealing only with
consequences and not with intentions. What if
someone intends to hurt others, but mistakenly
helps them? Does that make their action O.K.?
Human Rights


One last example:
What about human rights? If something, such as
slavery, or the “torture argument” we have been
hearing about, were to the benefit of the majority,
utilitarianism would seem to give it approval.
What is one to do?
One Tool Among Many

Utilitarianism does not work very well for me
when it stands alone. But as discussed earlier
regarding Rand’s ethical egoism theory, it works
very well as one tool among many that we might
want to use and have at our disposal. Having some
quantitative questions to ask makes sense some of
the time, but we also want to find a way to bring
qualitative values into the picture.