Chapter 3
The Challenge of Egoism
Psychological Egoism
• This view maintains that, despite
appearances to the contrary:
– We actually behave self-interestedly
• Does not maintain that despite
appearances to the contrary:
– Some of us are significantly motivated by selfinterest
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Ethical Egoism
• Individual Ethical Egoism
– Maintains that everyone ought to do what is in
the overall self-interest of one individual
– Justification for giving only Gladys’s interests
this status
• No relational characteristic
• No characteristic shared with others
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Ethical Egoism
• No unique characteristic
• Possessing unique traits
• Not claiming special status
– Is an indefensible position
• Universal Ethical Egoism
– Maintains that everyone ought to do what is in
his or her own overall self-interest
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Appealing to Publicity
• Universal Ethical Egoism has been
forcefully criticized by:
– Contemporary philosopher, Christine
Korsgaard, among others:
• For failing to meet a “publicity requirement” that is
satisfied by morality
• Seymour and Universal Ethical Egoism
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Paralleling Egoism and Racism
• Philosopher James Rachels offered an
argument that he thinks:
– “Comes closest to an outright refutation of
Ethical Egoism”
• Egoist does not provide a good reason:
– Why everyone should support the egoist’s
own interests over everyone else’s
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Appealing to Consistency
• Kurt Baier among others tries to show that:
– Universal Ethical Egoism is fundamentally
inconsistent
• Defenders of Universal Ethical Egoism
stress we should have little difficulty:
– Understanding the analogous use of “ought”
by the Universal Ethical Egoist
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Meeting the Challenge of Universal
Ethical Egoism
• From Rationality to Morality
– Principle of egoism:
• Each person ought to do what best serves his or
her overall self-interest
– Principle of altruism:
• Each person ought to do what best serves the
overall interest of others
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Meeting the Challenge of Universal
Ethical Egoism
– Cast the conflict not as a conflict between
self-interested reasons and moral reasons:
• But instead as a conflict between self-interested
reasons and altruistic reasons
• Lifeboat Cases
– Like when two individuals are stranded in a
lifeboat & only enough resources for one
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Morality as Compromise
• Morality can be viewed as a nonarbitrary
compromise:
– Between self-interested and altruistic reasons
• A nonquestion-begging argument favoring
morality over egoism
– In this way justifies morality over egoism
• Morality as Compromise in practice
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