Whenever we want others to do well or ill, we have these otherdirected desires only instrumentally. The opening argument he dubs a tautology from which nothing whatever concerning the nature of my motives or the objective of my desires can possibly follow. The theory of psychological egoism and ethical egoism essay 1039 words 5 pages. While egoism tends to be viewed as natural and unproblematic, altruism has always been treated with suspicion, and it has often been argued that apparent cases of altruistic behaviour might really just be some special form of egoism. Theory of psychological egoism asserts that each person does in fact pursue his or her own selfinterest exclusively. Whereas ethical egoism says that each person ought to pursue hisher own happiness, psychological egoism is the claim that each person, in fact, pursues hisher own happiness.
Psychological egoism is the empirical doctrine that the determining motive of every voluntary action is a desire for ones own welfare. Critique of psychological egoism david hume there is a principle, supposed to prevail among many, which is utterly incompatible with all virtue or moral sentiment. And the problems they raise apply equally to butlerstyle arguments against psychological egoism generally. Introduction to psychological egoism tracy kline this selection is part of a larger article that appeared on the original sophia project in 2000. Ethical egoism it is necessary and sufficient for an action to be morally right that it maximize ones selfinterest. On this view, even though all actions are regarded as selfinterested actions, the egoist readily points out that people usually try to conceal the determining motives for their actions because such concealment. Psychological egoism, as we discussed it, is the view that every person acts, ultimately, only for selfish reasons joel feinberg rejects psychological egoism on the grounds that. One argument for psychological egoism is that we always do what we most want to do. The theory of psychological egoism refers to the view that all human actions are selfcentered. Psychological egoism involves aspects of human nature, whereas ethical egoism involves morality. Psychological egoism is the belief that men only act in selfinterest in all situations, and when we help others we do it for ourselves.
The main difference between the two is that psychological egoism makes a claim about the way things are, and ethical egoism makes a claim about how things ought to be. A more commonly held subset of this belief is psychological egoistic hedonism, which says that we only act for our own pleasure. Psychological egoism is the view that each person is so constituted that he always seeks his own advantage or best interest. Joel feinberg october 19, 1926 in detroit, michigan march 29, 2004 in tucson, arizona was an american political and legal philosopher. Equivocation in feinbergs infinite regress argument. This thesis makes the factual claim that human nature is such that no person can perform an act unless he believes that it is in his best interest. Joel feinberg bibliography compiled by keith burgess. It holds that all desires are egoistic desires, or else derived egoistic desires. Egoism and altruism are unequal contenders in the explanation of human behaviour. Psychological egoism is the thesis that we are always deep down motivated by what we perceive to be in our own selfinterest. It must be distinguished from the normative claim that. Psychological egoism 449 further reading canovan, margaret.
Relational desires and empirical evidence against psychological egoism. Caplan the hastings center, institute of society, ethics and the life sciences and school of public health, columbia university, usa it is commonly thought, at least in philosophical circles, that the thesis of psychological egoismthe view that all of human behavior can be understood. Psychological egoism is a descriptive theory that rather than suggesting, as ethical or rational egoism does, how people ought to live, suggests how people actually go about their lives. Psychological egoism theory essay 2108 words bartleby. The argument you made is to disagree with psychological egoism. What do you think is the best argument in favor of the theory. An alternate form of psychological egoism, psychological hedonism, relates to jerry benthams ideals, the only kind of desire is the desire to get or to prolong pleasant experiences, and to avoid or cut short unpleasant experiences for oneself feinberg 167.
Psychological egoism is the view that humans are always motivated by selfinterest and selfishness, even in what seem to be acts of altruism. Psychological egoism philosophy paper psychological egoism is the view that people are always selfish. Rachels, humans are not always selfish lander university. The history about the psychological egoism philosophy essay. The assumptive nature of the theory introduces a number of possible avenues for refutation, some of which are very compelling. It claims that, when people choose to help others, they do so ultimately because of the personal benefits that they themselves expect to obtain, directly or indirectly, from so doing. Occasionally, the doctrine is initially defined in terms of selfishness or doing what one wants.
He is known for his work in the fields of ethics, action theory, philosophy of law, and political philosophy as well as individual rights and the authority of the state. The argument from psychological egoism to ethical egoism. Feinbergs critique psychological egoism view that all. I will be defending this thesis, and my opponents objective should be to show that there are instances where a person acts with with purely altruistic motives. Every single kind action has a dirty, secret story behind it. Joel feinberg bibliography compiled by keith burgessjackson, j. Do you agree with the verdict he draws from the story. Introduction and definition ethical egoism is a normative theory that states that our actions ought to be done from the perspective of selfinterest. Joel feinberg psychological egoism for california high. Psychological egoism elliott sober psycliological egoism is a theory about motivation that claims that all of our ulti mate desires are selfdirected. In the lesson that you just read, psychological egoism is the belief that human actions are a result of ones selfinterest. Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
View that all human conduct is selfishly motivated. Psychological egoism is the doctrine that the only thing anyone is capable of desiring or pursuing ultimately is. What is feinbergs point in telling the story about abraham lincoln. The bloomsbury encyclopedia of utilitarianism editor james e. What may not be evident from the title of this post is that im fairly sure that there is an equivocation in feinbergs infinite regress argument against psychological egoism. Fallacy of suppressed correlative problem of language even if the psychological egoist is prepared to admit certain actions as less selfish than others which may be seen to be more selfish the correlative to selfish is unselfish and the psychological egoist denies such acts as even possible. Psychological egoism philosophy paper 632 words bartleby. Psychological egoism is a descriptive theory and as such is fully open to refutation. Apart from that, the argument against psychological egoism also states that human motives are oversimplified according to the psychological egoism. However, like you said, any action becomes fundamentally selfish, which, is precisely what that theory is stating. Psychological egoism psychological egoism is the thesis that we always act from selfish motives. Psychological egoism free download as powerpoint presentation. Psychological egoism is a claim about all intentional actions.
Psychological egoism is the theory that all our actions are basically motivated by selfinterest. According to joel feinberg there are some points that have made psychological. The egoist says that all of us are necessarily selfregarding. According to psychological egoism there are two sorts of acts that a person cannot perform. Psychological egoism is a theory that holds that human beings always behave selfishly in everything that they do, and that it is impossible for them to behave otherwise. What is psychological egoism, and how does it differ from ethical egoism.
The only thing that anyone is capable of desiring pursuing ultimately as an end itself is his own selfinterest. Im getting married with a super, rich, old dude so i can be superduper rich later. Joshua may 2011 european journal of philosophy 19 1. We have no choice but to act selfishly, as we cant be motivated any other way. Feinberg observes that such arguments for psychological egoism are rarely mounted on the basis of empirical proof when, being psychological, they very well ought to. Feinberg clarifies psychological egoism and maintains that there are several things wrong with this theory. Joel feinberg, collective responsibility philpapers. Feinberg was one of the most influential figures in american jurisprudence of the last. Ethical egoism is a claim about what is morally good or bad, whereas psychological egoism is a claim about human psychology.
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