Psychological Egoism - 662 Words

Psychological egoism is the view that everyone always acts selfishly. It describes human nature as being wholly self-centered and self-motivated. Psychological egoism is different from ethical egoism in their â€Å"direction of fit† to the world. Psychological ego-ism is a factual theory. It aims to fit the world. In the world is not how psychological ego-ism says it is because someone acts unselfishly, then something is wrong with psycho-logical egoism. In my opinion this argument is completely wrong and unsound. According to James Rachel, an author of â€Å"Elements of Moral Philosophy,† there two main arguments exist against psychological egoism. The first argument can be formulated as such: 1) Everyone always does what they most want to†¦show more content†¦Rachels p. 74) One can conclude from this that it is the object of the want that should be considered when determining the selfishness of an act. The second argument for psychological egoism is formulated like this: 1) Everyone always does what they most want to do. 2) If are does what one wants to do, ones gets satisfaction. 3) If one gets satisfaction from doing what they want to do, then satisfaction is one’s only goal 4) If satisfaction is one’s only goal, one acts selfishly. 5) Everyone always acts selfishly. The major criticism of this argument lays in premise three, its â€Å"factual premise† as James Rachel calls it in his book. Opponents of this argument and Rachel being one of them, imply that it is wrong to say that satisfaction is one’s only goal because satisfaction doesn’t even have to be a goal. Satisfaction is the presumable state that results from ob-taining a goal. Thus premise three is wrong. One can say that you can make satisfaction your goal if you will feel bad if you don’t do something, but this is not always the case. Satisfaction can result from something else. And it is also incorrect to say that one makes satisfaction his goal then chooses his desires to fulfill the satisfaction. (J. Rachels p. 82) The second criticism is in premise four. Rachels proposes to change the premise, making it less problematic by saying that satisfaction is â€Å"ones’ primary goal† instead of â€Å"one’ s only goal.†Show MoreRelatedPsychological Egoism : The Definition Of Psychological Egoism1178 Words   |  5 PagesPsychological egoism is the belief that a person’s actions are prompted by their own selfishness. If every action in the world was done, only to fulfill one’s own selfish aspirations, then there would be no purely altruistic deeds. Moral egoism is the belief that people should do what is in their best self-interest; however, they have a tendency to carry out actions due to their genuineness. Based on its definition, morality is doing something because it is the â€Å"right† thing to do. PsychologicalRead MoreThe Theory Of Psychological Egoism And Ethical Egoism Essay1039 Words   |  5 PagesJames Rachels introduces in his written works, Egoism and Moral Skepticism, two different theories of human nature: psychological egoism and ethical egoism. The theory of psychological egoism refers to the view that all human actions are self-centered. On the other hand, the theory of ethical egoism is the idea that we are not obligated to do anything other than what is in our interest. Most individuals would consistently believe in ethical egoism because most generally care about the well-beingRead MorePsychological Theories Of Psychological Egoism1191 Words   |  5 Pagesthat are egoistically driven? This dissertation will take a closer look at these questions while exploring the views of psychological egotism and what its supporters believe drives us to act in certain ways. 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Psychological egoism builds around that our intended actions are always controlledRead MorePsychological and Ethical Egoism Essay1863 Words   |  8 Pages Egoism is a teleological theory of ethics that sets the ultimate criterion of morality in some nonmoral value (i.e. happiness or welfare) that results from acts (Pojman 276). It is contrasted with altruism, which is the view that ones actions ought to further the interests or good of other people, ideally to the exclusion of ones own interests (Pojman 272). This essay will explain the relation between psychological egoism and ethical egoism. It will examine how someone who believes in psychologicalRead MoreEgoism, Psychological And Ethical, And Altruism1141 Words   |  5 Pagesquestions bring to the surface the topics of egoism, psychological and ethical, and altruism. Egoism in general means that people think of their own advantage. They have high opinions of themselves and dote on themselves. Meaning they live and breathe off of self-praise. Most of the time this word has a negative connotation to it, and it is looked down upon (Flynn 459). Egoism falls into two categories: psychological and ethical. The term psychological egoism refers to the mindset that there is no suchRead MoreThe Theory Of Psychological And Ethical Egoism959 Words   |  4 PagesWhen looking at the ideas of egoisms, two major views come out in the form of psychological and ethical egoism. While both of the views hinge on the idea that everybody acts in their own self-interest, the major separator is that ethical egoist views their pursuit of their personal gain morally right (106), even if they have to kill or steal for it, compared to the psychosocial egoist who just state that the only thing that motivates humans is their self-interest while the moral standings stay theR ead More Psychological Egoism (Philosophy Paper)632 Words   |  3 PagesPsychological Egoism (Philosophy Paper) Psychological egoism is the view that people are always selfish. When was the last time you did a good deed? Did you do it for its own sake, or for your own? The egoist says that all of us are necessarily self-regarding. I shall argue that this view is incorrect. First we should ask, what kind of claim is this? Is it an a priori claim, or a generalization from experience? If it were the latter, we could never conclusively prove it: we could never show