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Abstract: Psychological egoism, the view that people act solely in their own interest, is defined and shown not to be a meaningful ethical philosophy. Psychological egoism is distinguished from ethical egoism. I. The distinction between psychological egoism and ethical egoism reflects the contrast of … “is” verses “ought,”
IV. Interestingly enough, the same objections can be raised against the view termed, “psychological altruism”: the view that all persons act from the motive of helping others, and all actions are done from other-regarding motives. (Psychological altruism is a view advanced only from the position of a “devil's advocate.”)
Consider the following passage from Freud's The Interpretations of Dreams: “A contradiction to my theory of dreams produced by another of my women patients (the cleverest of all my dreamers) was resolved … namely that the nonfulfillment of one wish meant the fulfillment of another. One day I had been explaining to her that dreams are fulfillments of wishes. Next day she brought me a dream in which she was traveling down with her mother-in-law to the place in the country where they were to spend their holidays together. Now I knew that she had violently rebelled against the idea of spending the summer near her mother-in-law and that a few days earlier she had successfully avoided the propinquity she dreaded by engaging rooms in a far distant resort. And now her dream had undone the solution she had wished for; was not this the sharpest contradiction of my theory that in dreams wishes are fulfilled? No doubt; and it was only necessary to follow the dreams logical consequence in order to arrive at its interpretation. The dream showed that I was wrong. Thus it was her wish that I might be wrong, and her dream showed that wish fulfilled.” Further SourcesAltruism “In-built” in Humans: BBC report of discovery of altruistic behavior in infants summarized from the journal Science. Butler, Joseph. “Sermon XI Upon the Love of Our Neighbour,”Fifteen Sermons, Preached at the Rolls Chapel (1726 London: Joseph Rickerby, 1836), 187-208. Also here: “Sermon XI Upon the Love of Our Neighbour,” (accessed July 15, 2022), The first edition of this work is available here: “Sermon XI: Upon the Love of Our Neighbour” Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel (London: W. Botham, 1726), 201-225. In this classic sermon, Bishop Butler inquires about the relationship between self-love and love or others which found philosophical discussions of the contrast of self-interest with altruism Ethical Egoism: (this site) The various forms of ethical egoism are defined. Standard objections to ethical egoism are evaluated, and the conclusion is drawn that ethical egoism is incomplete. Feinberg, Joel. “Psychological Egoism,” in Ethical Theory: An Anthology ed. Russ Shafer-Landau, 2nd. ed. (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2013), 168-177. Also here: “Psychological Hedonism.” Discussion of the theory, support, critique, and unclear logical status of psychological hedonism. May, Joshua. Psychological Egoism,” PhilPapers:Philosophical Archives (2011), also here: “Psychological Egoism” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy n.d. (accessed July 15, 2022). Mandeville, Bernard. “Human Beings are Selfish,” (this site) A reading selection from Mandeville's The Fable of the Bees where he praises selfishness as the origin of virtue and societal progress. Self-regarding actionshe claims, produce public benefits. See also notes on the reading “Mandeville: Human Beings Are Always Selfish” Mercer, Mark. “In Defence of Weak Psychological Egoism,” Erkenntis 55 (2001), 2017-237. doi: 10.1023/A:1012902007138 Mercer defends a weak version of psychological egoism that anything an agent does intentionally is done in the expectation of realizing self-regarding goals. “We Are Not Always Selfish”: (this site) A classic discussion of the many facets of ethical egoism in notes on James Rachel's work. Slote, Michael Anthony. “An Empirical Basis for Psychological Egoism,” The Journal of Philosophy 61 no. 18 (October 1, 1964), 530-537. doi: 10.2307/2023495 (Access via your library or free registration with JSTOR). Slote argues the psychological egoism as an empirical theory is an open question despite the philosophical arguments concerning it. In fact, “[It] may well be true … that men who act consistently in a benevolent manner … would not be acting benevolently unless their selfish desires and/or interests were usually satisfied by their doing so.” Sober, Elliott. Psychological Egoism in The Blackwell Guide to Ethical Theory eds. Hugh LaFollette and Ingmar Persson 2nd. ed. (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell, 2013), 148-168. In this lucid account and explication of psychological egoism and motivational pluralism, Sober concludes the empirical evidence as well as the philosophical arguments leave the issues unresolved. Tilley, John J. “John Clarke of Hull's Argument for Psychological Egoism,” British Journal for the History of Philosophy 23 no. 1 (January 2015), 69-89. doi: 10.1080/09608788.2014.986711 Tilley reconstructs and interprets Clarke's historically neglected argument for psychological egoism.
Which type of egoism is the theory that humans should act according to their own best interests a logical egoism b philosophical egoism D psychological egoism?Ethical Egoism. While psychological egoism claims that the ultimate goal of one's action is one's own self-interest, ethical egoism claims that one should pursue one's own best interest.
Which type of egoism is the theory that humans are only capable of acting in their own selfFirst, psychological egoism is a theory about the nature of human motives. Psychological egoism suggests that all behaviors are motivated by self-interest. In other words, it suggests that every action or behavior or decision of every person is motivated by self interest.
What are the three types of egoism?Psychological Egoism. All forms of egoism require explication of “self-interest” (or “welfare” or “well-being”). ... . Ethical Egoism. Ethical egoism claims that I morally ought to perform some action if and only if, and because, performing that action maximizes my self-interest. ... . Rational Egoism. ... . Conclusion.. Which type of egoism is the humans are only capable of acting in his own selfethical egoism, in philosophy, an ethical theory according to which moral decision making should be guided entirely by self-interest. Ethical egoism is often contrasted with psychological egoism, the empirical claim that advancing one's self-interest is the underlying motive of all human action.
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