1. Egoism

2. Types of Egoism
Psychological egoism- factual claim that people act always and only in their self-interest.
Ethical egoism – moral claim that people ought to act in their self-interest alone

3. What about Altruism?

4. Ethical Egoism The Basic Good is one’s own interests.
Rule- everyone should act in ways that are in their own interest.

5. Justification # 1
Argument # 1- Each of us is intimately familiar with our own individual wants and needs. We can pursue these, but know very little about the interests of others and thus to act on their behalf may produce more harm than good.

6. Justification # 2
Looking out for “others” is an offensive intrusion into other people’s privacy. It is essentially a policy of “minding other people’s business.”

7. Justification # 3
To concern ourselves with others’ good is to degrade them and rob them of their dignity. It says they cannot care for themselves and leads to them becoming less self-reliant and more dependent.

8. Justification # 4
Ayn Rand- one’s individual life is of ultimate value and thus ethical egoism takes seriously this reality.

9. Argument Against
Thomas Jefferson- “our relations with others constitute the boundaries of morality. Self-love therefore, is no part of morality.”

10. Confucius
The Five Constant Relationships

11. Equal Treatment
Ethical egoism advocates that we divide the world into two categories of others- ourselves and everyone else.
What makes me so special?
We should care about the interests of others because they are comparable to our own.