Ethical Egoism

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This video outlines ethical egoism, one of the teleological theories of ethics.

Ethical egoism is a theory that is based on self-interest. That is, the pursuit of self-interest is considered ‘ethically correct’ since this theory assumes that everyone acts in their own self-interest. Before we look at ethical egoism in more detail, let’s look at the entire concept map of all normative theories so we know exactly where ‘ethical egoism’ fits in.

There are two broad categories of normative theories, namely: teleological and deontological theories. 
Ethical egoism is subset of teleological theory.
So, we know that ethical egoism is a normative theory which means it is theory that focuses on how people SHOULD or OUGHT to behave.
We also know that it is a branch of teleological theory. This means that it focuses on consequences and the outcomes of a decision 
rather than on intention.
As stated earlier, ethical egoism is a theory that is based on self-interest. 
 That is, the pursuit of self-interest is considered ‘ethically correct’ since this theory assumes that everyone acts in their own self-interest.
It is important to note that ethical egoism is still a normative theory and should not be confused with psychological egoism. Psychological egoism describes how people ACTUALLY behave whereas normative theories describes how people SHOULD behave.
So, according to ethical egoism, it is ‘ok’ or ‘acceptable’ to make a decision or choose an action that benefits one’s self.

The pursuit of self-interest is choosing an option that would result in the decision maker receiving the net benefits.  Selfishness refers to the lack of concern for the values of others. It refers to someone who does not care about others and does not care about fairness.

Let’s build on the foundation of self-interest’ and consider the concept of ‘enlightened self-interest’.
Enlightened basically means being aware and informed and having an all round insight.

So if we add this to our current understanding of self-interest, it means that we are well aware off and informed about our actions and decisions that would result in present or future self-interest.
‘Enlightened self-interest’ might be applicable in John’s case, and he may decide to share without any prompting. However, if John is not old enough to understand, and acts selfishly, then his parents will probably help guide his decisions about sharing – because they understand the problems linked to being selfish and the benefits attached to sharing. They will be the ones demonstrating how enlightened self-interest works.

To recap, ethical egoism is a teleological theory. In terms of this theory, the pursuit of self-interest is ethical but this should not be confused with selfishness.

YouTube url:	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXoGatDZfvI
Created:	7. 5. 2021 06:00:02

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Ethical Egoism