Verified Document

Ethical Egoism What It Is And What It Is Not Essay

Ethics and Nursing One of the nurses you work with is an ethical egoist, should you report him to your nurses' supervisor? Why or why not?

This person should not be reported because the definition of what is meant by good has not been given. For example, Socrates could be considered an ethical egoist because he held the position that persons of intelligence always act in their own self-interest, i.e., for their own personal good, but what he meant by that was that they do good to others and to the spiritual being above them and in this manner do good for themselves. However, another person might define the good as something that gives any passing benefit whatsoever, such as pleasure or monetary gain -- and this concept of the good would not meet Socrates' approval, i.e., he would not call it good. Yet this same person might also identify as an ethical egoist. So it is important that the meanings and definitions and labels that we apply to ourselves and others be accurately assessed before they are reported (Ethical Egoism, n.d.).

In this case, I would suggest the nurse clarify what is meant by ethical egoist. If the nurse's opinion lines up more with Socrates...

If, however, the moral principle that underlines the nurse's ethical egoism is relativistic rather than universal and objective (as was Socrates') then there may be a problem because that nurse might seek personal gain at the cost of others. In short, the behavior of the nurse should be monitored but no complaint should be made until these issues can resolved with more clarity.
2. Must the Utilitarianism to govern medicine and health care? Why?

Utilitarianism is another concept that needs the notion of the good to be clarified. In utilitarianism, the greatest good is believed to be that which benefits the common good of all (Bennett, 2010). It seeks a practical solution in this sense, one that is pragmatic, but defining what is the common good becomes a problem that the utilitarian alone cannot solve. He must appeal to other ethical models of a more transcendent nature. Some will appeal to a relativistic or subjective model while others will appeal to a universal, objective model and this will make all the difference. Doing that which is for the common good is a…

Sources used in this document:
References

Bennett, Christopher. "Utilitarianism." What is this thing called ethics?. London:

Routledge, 2010. 55-73

Ethical Egoism. (n.d.). PLE. Retrieved from http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/ethical_ego.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Ethical Egoism and Abortion
Words: 3618 Length: 10 Document Type: Research Paper

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

Ethical Egoism in the Criminal
Words: 1299 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Most philosophers, however, reject egoism or ethical egoism as it violates the foundations of an ethical system. Two persons to both maximize their respective self-interests will lead to conflict. Moreover, egoism inclines towards the exploitation of the weak. When a person is caught performing an illegal act or an act violating a professional code of ethics, it is almost always because of egoistic behavior that he committed it (Cengage). Gun

Ethical Egoism and Psychological Egoism
Words: 865 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Others argue against Ethical Egoism. The work of Pecorino states as an argument against Ethical Egoism the facts as follows: Ethical Egoism "provides no moral basis for solving conflicts between people; (2) Ethical Egoism "obligates each person to prevent others from doing the right thing; (3) Has the same logical basis as racism"; (4) "The egoist cannot advise others to be egoists because it works against the first egoists

Ethical Egoism in Business Is
Words: 3116 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

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),

Ethical Egoism
Words: 383 Length: 1 Document Type: Essay

Ethical egoism unsatisfactory moral theory; important corrective ethics -sacrifice. Briefly relate ethical egoism, defended Ayn Rand, ethics -sacrifice, presented Carol Gilligan's stage moral development. Philosophy commentary 1st thread Conventional morality tends to prioritize self-sacrifice as the ideal, particularly for females. However, the valorization of self-sacrifice can be taken too far -- Gilligan's theory of gender-based moral development seems to suggest that it is 'natural' for girls to prioritize harmony over objective ethical

Ethical Egoism
Words: 1282 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Ethics and Morality In basic terms, ethical egoism can be regarded as an ethical position (normative) in which case an agent ought to undertake a course of action that maximizes his or her own self-interest. Thus in this case, the primary duty of the agent is to promote his or her own interests. In this text, I concern myself with ethical egoism. In so doing, I develop several arguments in favor

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now