Ethical Egoism: Are We Doing The Right Thing?

Humanity as a whole is fundamentally self-centered. Most people are more concerned with what is best for themselves than in helping others. Ethical Egoism is the claim that for an action to be morally right that it must maximize one’s self-interest. Each individual person should pursue whatever is best for them. This means that whatever the good action is, is the one that is best for each individual. This form of self-interest accounts for all of a person’s obligations. If an Ethical Egoist was hungry but had nothing to eat they take their neighbors food to eat, and they believe this is good because now they have food to end their hunger, and hence it means it is the right thing to do. What is important to remember about Ethical Egoism is that it does not claim that you should never help anyone again, rather it says to help anyone and everyone as long as you are the one seeing the benefits. If other people benefit from your actions that is just an added …show more content…
The duty we have to telling the truth, keeping our promises, and not harming others are “ultimately derived from the one fundamental principle of self-interest” (Rachels, 75). If we break any of these rules then others will treat us badly. This means we are better off obeying the rules because that is how we ensure that others treat us well. Ultimately it is in a person’s self-interest to follow these rules as they will ensure the best outcome. The issue with this way of thinking is that self-interest and these ordinary rules of morality do not always coincide, it may be to a person’s advantage to break a moral rule and treat someone badly. “Ethical Egoism says that self-interest is the only reason to help others,” so even if donating money to the poor is the right thing to do, it does not necessarily support the interests of an