Egoism/Ethics
An egoist looks out for his or her own self-interests. In fact, an ethical egoist stance assumes that the morally correct choice must be based on self-interest. Maximizing self-interest may or may not benefit others indirectly. However, an egoist knows that selfless service does not always lead to beneficial results and that the only individual whose life we can control is the actor -- the self.
Egoists' stance on affirmative action would therefore depend on self-interest alone. A black woman egoist may support affirmative action knowing that she would benefit personally. Likewise, a white man egoist would likely oppose affirmative action knowing that his self-interest depended on the status quo.
Interestingly, however, the egoist may support that which benefits others is -- and only if -- that action also benefits the self-directly or indirectly. Therefore, an egoist black politician might oppose affirmative action if the stance would earn him support in an upcoming election. An egoist white politician might support affirmative action for similar reasons. In either case, the egoist does not take a stance on affirmative action because it would benefit a group of people, but because it would benefit their own career. An egoist African-American may oppose affirmative action for other self-centered reasons too. For example, the individual might not want to be accused of being hired on the basis of her minority status alone; their social life may benefit more from a less desirable job. In another scenario, a white man who was married to an African-American woman might support affirmative action even though it would ruin his chances for a promotion for the sole reason that his personal life would suffer otherwise. Thus, the egoists' decisions are usually situational and highly personal. What benefits one individual may not benefit another.
Affirmative action programs are egoist from the point-of-view of those they benefit. To some white males, especially egoists whose jobs are directly affected by such programs, affirmative action equals "reverse discrimination." However, egoist minorities who have been previously excluded from positions of power and who would benefit directly would support affirmative action.
Ethics and Morality In ethics egoism demands the individual to either be the encouraging moral force or should be the end of moral action. Egoism is of two; positive and normative ethic. The positive ethic is about real human psychology, where people are motivated by their own interests and desires. The normative ethic says that people should be so motivated. The positivist egoist theory called the psychological egoism, provides an explanation of
83). Let us go through these arguments. The first argument does not suggest that a person involved in business should disregard any ethical obligations. One can economically survive in business without violating the norms of morality. Moreover, as Beverluis argues, "we are in a real sense 'doing' business ethics. For what is a 'right'? If one puts forward the claim to have certain moral rights (as opposed to legal rights),
Business Ethics Ethical Egoist- Egoism can be either descriptive or normative. Descriptive egoism holds that for each individual, there is only one ultimate aim -- survival and the betterment of the sole individual based on their own hierarchical principles. Normative egoism has the individual making claims about what should be done to do the "right" thing, rather than what one does. As well, ethical egoism insists that for an action to
If the leaders of our national financial institutions had asked 'are these moral actions right, ethically speaking, from the point-of-view of my profession' rather than 'will these moral actions make money,' the world financial crisis would never have occurred. Utilitarianism also tends to deemphasize minority rights -- but merely because a group is in the minority does not mean that it is engaged in a moral wrong. This can be
Virtue Ethics Beats Egoism One of the reasons that philosophy is such a fascinating topic that has endured virtually throughout the course of human history is because it presents the crux of human existence in the basic forms of what is right and wrong. Moreover, there are a number of different philosophies that present alternative versions of what values encompass what is right and wrong. Two of the most eminent such
Ethical Egoism & Abortion Ethical egoism, as a philosophical position, holds that it is an ethical obligation for people to act in their own self-interest. How does this philosophical position deal with the debate over the morality of abortion? It is necessary, before beginning a closer analysis, to define our terms. Abortion is a hotly contested issue, but our sense of ethics here needs to be understood first as distinct from
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