psychological egoism vs ethical egoism
Psychological Egoism Vs. Ethical Egoism
In layman's terms, egoism comes into play when the end justifies the means; because the word has a negative connotation by and large. Psychological egoism and ethical egoism are two doctrines that analyze and study the cause and driving force behind any action taken by man. This Buzzle article presents a comparison of these two philosophies with the help of examples.
Did You Know?
Ayn Rand was an advocate of ethical egoism. She developed the philosophical system of 'objectivism', which is based on individualism, propagated in her novels 'The Fountainhead' and 'Atlas Shrugged'.- A psychological egoist would argue that a soldier sacrifices his life for the sake of his country; only in order to avoid the guilt he would have, if he did not.
- A particular form of psychological egoism is 'psychological hedonism', which projects that all voluntary human actions are motivated by a desire to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Sigmund Freud's 'pleasure principle' is largely based on this theory. The phrase 'let them eat cake' can be termed as psychological hedonism.
- Every act of altruism is rejected as having a selfish motive behind it, in psychological egoism.
- An ethical egoist would hold it morally right if you helped in renovating a local sports stadium than donate for a flood relief fund elsewhere.
- A private railroad making profit and running more successfully than a nationalized railroad in the benefit of the state, is an instance of ethical egoism.
- An ethical egoist would choose what he wants as a career, rather than what his parents or society wants. For instance, choosing art over the more 'sophisticated' profession of architecture.
- The theory of psychological egoism is non-falsifiable. The benefactor's own self interest is the only answer to every question asked.
- Psychological egoists say that we often deceive ourselves about our selfish motives. This argument seems to be based on mistaken reductionism.
- Ethical egoism is prone to self-contradiction. For example, helping people only when there is a possibility of reciprocation is not truly in our own self-interest; as the egoist might not find help later when in need.