Assess The Difference Between Psychology And Ethical Egoism

Many would confuse ethical egoism with psychological egoism but there is a difference between these two. Psychological egoism is the view that humans are always motivated by their self-interest. It asserts that people will only be willing to help another person only when there is a personal benefit they can gain from it. On the other hand, Ethical egoism is philosophical Ethical theory that attempts to explain how correct moral behavior should be solely based on principles of self-interest. Basically, people should act for what will benefit them.
Ethical egoism is a normative philosophical view as it describes how people ought to behave. Normative philosophies stipulate types of correct behavior should be loved up to despite the circumstances. …show more content…
However, this moral philosophy focuses on prescribing not describing. Moral philosophies aim to prescribe good moral behavior, however, opponents to ethical egoism claim that it cannot be viewed as a moral theory because it does not actually prescribe correct moral behavior. The great majority of people would deem the actions ethical egoism prescribes as unethical. Being an egoists requires the pursuit of self-interest even at the expense of others well-being. For instance, there could be a child in the middle of the road about to get hit by a car, an ethical egoist would state that the child should be saved only if there is a personal benefit to it. It might be if there was a news crew and the rescue would bring praise and publicity to the egoist. On the contrary, if the egoist were to think about the possibility of getting hit by the car then it might not be worth it. Another aspect is that it would be considered an act of kindness and/or the “feel good” feeling would kick which does not fit with the ethical egoism philosophy. Another example would be the thief that needs money and steals all the valuables from a poor person’s home that needed them. The thief knew that he would not be caught but it does not make his action less morally wrong. This leads us to the ethical egoism flawed view that allows people to hurt others because they think it is …show more content…
Such relationships produce obligations that otherwise would not be done. For instance, raising a child implies the obligation of taking care of the kid in every single aspect, ranging from contributing with food and shelter to providing love and care, as the child is still dependent. The fact that we have obligations to another living being implies that sometimes it will be required of us to act in other people’s interests rather than merely our own self-interest, even if it less profitable to do so. That means that ethical egoism is false because it states that we always have to act according to our self-interest. Proponents would challenge the opposition by stating that a it is beneficial to take care of the kid as it will, for example, when the child is an adult, he or she will take care of you. However, there is nothing that assures that. Also, they cannot disregard a mother that instead of aborting decides to keep the child even though there is no benefit from it. All in all, ethical egoism is false because, as previously mention, a good ethical philosophy would not require people to hurt others, it would lead to the downfall of society, and it cannot explain interdependent relationships such as the one of a mother with her