Ethical Egoism – Mega Essays

Egoism : Develop the criticism that ethical egoism is an inadequate moral theory because it does not resolve moral conflicts. Recall that ethical egoism simply denies that theories must do this. I will be arguing that ethical egoism is an inadequate moral theory because it does not resolve moral conflicts. I will first give you the basic background information on ethical egoism as well as information about egoism required to see the flaw in it. Then I will discuss the hole in ethical egoism that makes it an inadequate theory. To fully understand the flaw in ethical egoism you must first know certain principles behind ethical egoism. Ethical egoism is a normative theory which means it states how we ought to act. There are two types of ethical egoism; individual ethical egoism and universal ethical egoism. I will be referring to universal ethical egoism in the rest of the paper. Universal ethical egoism states that everyone should or ought to look out for themselves and their own best interest. It also says that one should only help others when it benefits themselves in the long run. It states that in any conflict, instead of reaching a compromise, each person should reach their own best interest. It is the opposite of altruism which states that everyone should dedicate their lives to helping others whereas ethical egoism states that everyone should lookout for themselves. A definition of what a moral theory should do must also be given. A moral theory should set principles in order to determine what actions are right and what are wrong and from that be able to conclusively end an argument by having the parties reach an agreement. The problem that arises from ethical egoism is that everyone cannot always look out for their own best interests. It is like a chess game in which one person has the opportunity to block the others check, which is in his best interest, but on the other hand it is in the others best interest to tak...

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Ethical Egoism. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 11:46, October 29, 2016, from http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/74051.html

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Ethical Egoism - Mega Essays