Egoism

Okay, since I am having trouble finding time to write, I have decided to start posting some of my work from my ethics class. Ethics is ultimately at the heart of my preoccupation with life, so it only seems fitting, (not to mention convenient.) and should provide some good topics for discussion. Let me know what you think.

Egoism:
Egoism is generally divided into two basic concepts: Descriptive, or psychological egoism, and normative, or ethical egoism. Psychological egoism is a theory about the human condition, and holds that people are by nature selfish and driven only by personal gain. Though people at times help each other and act unselfishly, according to psychological egoism it is only out of a selfish hope for a future payoff. This theory also excludes even the possibility of altruism, suggesting that acts of altruism are motivated only by the desire for the feeling of self-gratification, and are therefore ultimately selfish acts. This theory is unfortunately impossible to prove or disprove however, since a persons true motives cannot be known. Even if we think we know our own motives, there is always the possibility of some level of self-delusion possibly driven by guilt over our own selfishness. While selfishness is often an obvious driving force, and as much a part of the human condition as suffering, I believe it is a rather bleak perception of humanity, and that there is insufficient evidence to assert that we are 100% driven by selfishness.

The other form of egoism, ethical egoism, holds that we are not necessarily selfish by nature, (though it does not exclude this as a possible fact.) but rather that we ought to be selfish. Ethical egoism postulates that it is not only moral to act in ones own self interest, but that it would be immoral to expect someone to act contrary to their own interests. There are many arguments for this ethical theory, however many are built on the perceived notion that our nature is selfish. This falls short of a convincing argument that we ought to be selfish however, since as David Hume wrote in his, Treatise on Human Nature, “You cannot derive an ought from an is." Ultimately, ethical egoism seems to be more of an attempt to justify human nature, rather then an attempt to answer what is moral.