Ethical Egoism – Carnegie Mellon University

Robert Cavalier Philosophy Department Carnegie Mellon

Part I History of Ethics

Preface: The Life of Socrates Section 1: Greek Moral Philosophy Section 2: Hellenistic and Roman Ethics Section 3: Early Christian Ethics Section 4: Modern Moral Philosophy Section 5: 20th Century Analytic Moral Philosophy

Part II Concepts and Problems

Preface: Meta-ethics, Normative Ethics and Applied Ethics Section 1: Ethical Relativism Section 2: Ethical Egoism Section 3: Utilitarian Theories Section 4: Deontological Theories Section 5: Virtue Ethics Section 6: Liberal Rights and Communitarian Theories Section 7: Ethics of Care Section 8: Case-based Moral Reasoning Section 9: Moral Pluralism

Part III Applied Ethics

Preface: The Field of Applied Ethics Section 1: The Topic of Euthanasia Multimedia Module: A Right to Die? The Dax Cowart Case Section 2: The Topic of Abortion Multimedia Module: The Issue of Abortion in America Postscript: Conflict Resolution

As a metaethical theory of motivation, psychological egoism asserts the descriptive claim that all of our actions can be reduced to self-interest: "Whenever people do something, it is only because they think something desirable for themselves will result from it." The claim is descriptive and thus open to counterexamples, and it is broad, stating a reductionistic thesis regarding all of our actions. (Contrast psychological egoism with the psychological state of sympathy, where 'the weal and woe of the other becomes the motive for our action'.)

It is interesting to note that while egoism rests on the principles of human psychology, a number of studies in the psychology of moral development seem to suggest that 'egoism' is in fact only a first stage in actual moral development.

See excerpts from the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on Egoism.

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Ethical Egoism - Carnegie Mellon University