Paul Maverick B. Ward
Contemporary Moral Problems by James E. White (7th Edition)
Library Reference: none
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Contemporary-Moral-Problems-James-White/dp/0495553204/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1233910528&sr=1-1
Quote: “All that can be said is that genuine egoists are rare, and that it is a fundamental fact of human psychology that humans care about others and not just about themselves.”
Learning Expectations:
I expect to learn more about egoism and how James Rachels explain the different views it has and the way it affects the world. I also expect to learn what the main difference is between Psychological Egoism and Ethical Egoism.
Review:
On the first sub-chapter of Chapter 1 on the book Contemporary Moral Problems, James Rachels gave insights on Egoism and Moral Scepticism. Who is James Rachels you might ask, He is a university professor of Philosophy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is the author of multiple books and has been successful with it. He has a lot of things to say about the human ego and the scepticism that others impart to people they usually don’t like.
According to James Rachels, there are two (2) popular views used to attack conventional morality and these are Psychological Egoism and Ethical Egoism. Let’s first talk about Psychological Egoism; this is a morality where people’s actions are self-interested. It means that it is natural for a human being to perform an action without thinking of other things. They would care less about other kinds of things away from something that they cherish or wants. They would do such things because of the greed and selfishness that they possess within themselves. While the Ethical Egoism on the other hand, is a morality where all actions are ought to be self-interested. It means that it is up to the person to see things if it is ethical or not. He wouldn’t care less about what others think of as long as the person is right for himself and satisfies the person’s self-interest. These human morality or human egos are something that people sometimes take a hold of and put their lives solely into it. They put their principles and carry it with their egos which might bring them to highs or lows.
Let’s focus first about Psychological Egoism; this is a type of mentality where people act due to normal human nature. This is sometimes an act of selfishness because given a situation where a person would choose between two (2) decisions, either of the decisions chosen by the person; the person would choose something that weighs heavier for him/her. Whatever might the outcome be, the outcome would be mostly beneficial to the person because it is something that he/she wanted more compared to the other decision. Well for me, this is sometimes the root of some problems or difficulties. Why? You might ask. It is because given a certain situation, if a man would choose between a woman he loves with his whole life, or a woman that satisfies his desires, whatever the decision or outcome may be, there would be certainly someone to be heartbroken. It is up to the morality or motives of the man to what will be the outcome of his life.
On the other hand, the Ethical Egoism is the type of morality where people perform an action based on what they truly want or what is their sole self-interest. Given a specific situation, where a man wanted to shoot an animal just for the sake of knowing what power his weapon truly possesses. This man wouldn’t care less about that bird because for him, all he wanted to know is how strong his weapon is. He doesn’t care about what will happen to the animal because it is not part of his conscience or motive. As long as he knows how powerful his weapon is, it is ok for him to shoot around some animals. The man would also determine his actions on what is the limit of what he can do. A person with an ethical egoism is someone who thinks about the situation first before actually doing it. This kind of morality is something that shows that a person wants something to accomplish for his/her own sake. A person would practice a sport for the sake of that certain person to be much better compared to the others. Another is if a person would focus a hundred percent (100%) on his/her job for him/her to gain money. The money that would be gained would solely be for his/her own sake and happiness. For me, these kinds of people are those who are very competitive and aggressive to other people.
Overall, every people have his/her own morality or ethical views in life. This variety should be respected by all people all over the world. But in some occasions, there are actions to be carried out to correct a person’s morality and views in life.
Lessons Learned:
I have learned more about egoism and its different kinds of views and some insights of James Rachels. I have also learned about the difference between Psychological Egoism and Ethical Egoism. The way these morality and ethical views impact the world is truly remarkable in its own ways.
Integrative Questions:
- What are the two popular views used to attack conventional morality?
- How does Psychological Egoism help people with their lives?
- How does Ethical Egoism help people with their lives?
- Who is James Rachels?
- What is being attacked with the use of the two popular views?
Review Questions:
- Explain the legend of Gyges. What questions about morality are raised by the story?
- He is a shepherd who was said to have found a magic ring in a fissure opened by an earthquake. The ring would make its wearer invisible and thus would enable him to go anywhere and do anything undetected. Gyges used the power of the ring to gain entry to the Royal Palace where he seduced the Queen, murdered the King, and subsequently seized the throne.
- The question about morality about the story is that even though there are two kinds of person who obtains a ring, a rogue and a virtuous man, both will still do the same thing. There will be no difference because both can do anything they want without fear of reprisal.
- Distinguish between psychological and ethical egoism.
- Psychological Egoism holds that all human actions are self-interested, whereas Ethical Egoism says that all actions ought to be self-interested.
- Rachels discusses two arguments for psychological egoism. What are these arguments, and how does he reply to them?
- The first argument goes as follows, if we describe one person’s action as selfish, and another person’s action as unselfish. We are overlooking the crucial fact that in both cases, assuming that the action is done voluntarily, the agent is merely doing what he most wants to do.
- The second argument is that the so-called unselfish actions always produce a sense of self-satisfaction in the agent, and since this sense of satisfaction is a pleasant state of consciousness, it follows that the point of the action is really to achieve a pleasant state of consciousness, rather than to bring about any good for others.
- What three commonplace confusions does Rachels detect in the thesis of psychological egoism?
- The first is the confusion of selfishness with self-interest.
- The second confusion is the assumption that every action is done either from self-interest or from other-regarding motives.
- The third confusion is the common but false assumption that a concern for one’s own welfare is incompatible with any genuine concern for the welfare of others.
- State the argument for saying that ethical egoism is inconsistent. Why doesn’t Rachels accept this argument?
- There is no way to maintain the doctrine of ethical egoism as a consistent view about how we ought to act. We will fall into inconsistency whenever we try.
- He doesn’t accept the argument because ethical egoists are predictable in a way that they would want to maximize their self-interest.
- According to Rachels, why shouldn’t we hurt others, and why should we help others?
How can the egoist reply?
- The egoist can reply by not accepting the reasons because all an egoist cares for is their self-interest.
Discussion Questions:
- Has Rachels answered the question raised by Glaucon, namely, “Why be moral?” If so, what exactly is his answer?
- Yes, his answer is to satisfy our own self-interest while looking out for those of others too.
- Are genuine egoists rare? As Rachels claims? Is it fact that most people care about others, even people they don’t know?
- Yes, it is true that majority of people will do something to help out other people.
- Suppose we define ethical altruism as the view that one should always act for the benefit of others and never in one’s own self-interest. Is such a view immoral or not?
- It is somehow not immoral because for a Christian point of view, it is better to give than to receive.
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