Ethical egoism is a theory whose view is that people are required to pursue selfish interests and are not obligated to help in the achievement of other people's interests. Ethical egoism is a normative and prescriptive theory that focuses on the way people are required to behave and differs from psychological egoism that ascertains that all people’s actions are self-centered. General good can only be promoted when every individual pursues their self-interests, which is beneficial to society ( Westacott, 2019) . People are usually the best judges of their interests and are generally motivated towards working to benefit themselves rather than achieving the goals of other people. Thus, ethical egoism differs from psychological egoism, which dictates that all human actions are ultimately self-interested. The best way of promoting general good is ensuring that every individual pursues their self-interests as promoted by Bernard Mandeville.
A famous passage written by smith showed that when an individual single-minded pursues the gratification of their desires, they intentionally benefit society as a whole. Such a result usually occurs since and individual is the best judge of their interest and are generally motivated towards working hard in benefiting themselves rather than achieving other goals ( sevenpillars, 2017) . Ethical egoism is used when declaring self-interests and usually defines what is good and bad. Ethical egoism can be defined based on an individual’s self-interest and consciousness and seeks an ideal environment harmonious to an individual’s interests ( Westacott, 2019) .
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An example of ethical egoism can be taken from the context of one being a scrooge. For instance, egoists believe an individual should help others but only because it is within their self-interests. For instance, ethical egoists believe it is good to scratch another person’s back just because the act is in their rational self-interest such that other people will scratch their back in return. One major characteristic of ethical egoism is that such people do not do what they feel but will follow their objectives and rational self-interest.
Some researchers believe that the world would be a better place if people would have pursued their self-interests as it would nurture their real possession. Examples of ethical egoists are those people who recognize that the only thing they own is life, such that there is no problem with being selfish ( sevenpillars, 2017) . Another example of ethical egoism is when the world is viewed as a better place for economic growth, allowing every individual to pursue their dreams. Another characteristic of ethical egoistic is that it believes altruistic acts like charity degrades people that receive the service.
Ethical egoism can be criticized for its misinterpretation of altruism doctrine, which does not align with the view of basis morality regarding having a degree of humanity for other people's interests. For instance, when an individual embraces altruism, they must also embrace low self-esteem, nightmare view of others, and disrespectful attitude towards others. The mischaracterization of altruism can also be noted in the description of charitable actions. Another problem with ethical egoism is that it does not offer approaches to resolve the conflict of interest and has been linked to racism regarding conceptual construction.
References
Westacott, E. (2019). What Is Ethical Egoism? [Blog]. Retrieved 12 March 2020, from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-ethical-egoism-3573630
sevenpillars. (2017). Sevenpillarsinstitute.org. Retrieved 12 March 2020, from https://sevenpillarsinstitute.org/glossary/ethical-egoism/.
