Egoism

Egoism

Egoism, as contrary to utilitarianism, is described as the view that associates morality with self-interest. Egoists believe that an act is morally right if and only if it best promotes their long-term interest. Thus, egoists use their best long-term advantage as the ultimate standard for measuring an action’s righteousness. For instance, if an action produces, will possible produce, or is intended to produce for an egoist a greater ratio of good over evil in the long-run than any other option/alternative, then the action is the right one to perform and he should consider such act as moral. If it is accepted as a basis for morality, is it really right for us to adopt such principle? What could possibly happen if all of us learned to make use of such principle in our day-to-day living?

Egoists clearly pointed out that they are not living a happy life by considering only their own good and not caring for others. They are also in a sense, “risk-takers” and they are willing to undergo unpleasant even painful experiences, provided that such temporary sacrifice is necessary for the advancement of his long-term interest. Another is the principle of hedonism, the view that only pleasure (or happiness) is of intrinsic value, the only good worth pursuing. Though some egoists are hedonists, one must never generalize them as such because there are also some of them who have a broader view of what constitutes self-interest, just like knowledge, power or what other psychologist might call self-actualization. Lastly, egoists can also act honestly, be gracious and helpful to others, or otherwise promote other’s interest. Egoists indirectly help others by promoting their own self-interest. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone, but you aim for just one. In particular, egoists tells us to benefit others when we expect that our doing so will be reciprocated or when the act will bring us pleasure or in some way promote our own good.

Egoism seemed to be a concrete principle, there are, however, some problems in adopting such. Psychological egoism, a doctrine that states that all human beings are, as a matter of fact, so constructed that they behave selfishly, is not a sound theory. There are some human acts that doesn’t really promote their own good, instead promote others welfare. When Peter Parker (Spiderman 2) lost his powers as the masked wall-crawler, he tried to live a normal life, as an ordinary citizen. But when he saw a building on fire, he immediately rushed inside to save a little girl trapped in the second floor. He knew that he could die rescuing the victim, but he ignored the fire and went in. Such heroic deed is actually a sign of courage and bravery. This example actually violates the rule about psychological egoism (the only desires that you have, or the only desire that moves you are all self-interested desires). Psychological egoism justifies that such act is still caused by personal interest- it may be fame, prize, etc. But, for all those who watched the movie, you know that Peter wasn’t after any prize, or fame whatsoever, in fact, after he helped the victims, he left the place. A hero, indeed.

Ethical egoism is not really a moral theory at all. It is difficult to see how ethical egoism could perform this function as a moral standard. If all people fight for their pure self-interested desires, then they would find it hard to attain moral standards that will provide the guidelines for cooperative social existence. Thus, if the people’s interests never came into conflict- that is, if it were never advantageous for one person to deceive or cheat one another- then, people would have no need for morality.

Am I also an egoist? I remember back when I was ten. I learned to compete with my classmates for a high grade, but does that qualify me as an egoist? How about when I started to collect Harry Potter stuffs, old coins, certificates and postcards? When I found a five-peso coin and decided to keep it? When I decided not to let Micha text using my phone? Or how about when I watched a movie all alone? Are these all sign of my selfishness?

I like to believe that I exercise egoism most of the time. I am well-motivated to do things that I like because it brings me pleasure and excitement. But I am not that selfish. I think that I am an egoist who wants self-interest but never at the expense of others’. It’s like I acquire happiness without hurting or harming anyone around me. With this in mind, I believe that in a sense, I am able to exercise both egoism and utilitarianism. Why? Because I believe that people desires to find ultimate happiness in this world. Such happiness is subjectively defined, but absolute happiness doesn’t lead other people on the wrong end.

What could possibly happen in a world where people are pure egoist? Probably, the world would never be the same. It’s like living in a world where there is an ultimate rule: “Mind Your Own Business”. Just imagine a world where no one cares what you do, and no one would tell you the difference between right and wrong because that is beyond their rule of achieving personal happiness. The most common objection to egoism as an ethical doctrine is that by reducing everything to the standard of best long-term self-interest, egoism takes no stand against seemingly outrageous acts like stealing, murder, racial discrimination, deliberately false advertising and wanton pollution. Such actions remain morally neutral until the test of self-interest is applied. That is the reason why one of the problems with egoism is that it ignores blatant wrongs. Another is that egoism cannot provide means for settling conflicts and disputes because it simply tells each party to do whatever is necessary to promote effectively his or her interest.

Egoism is not a concrete basis of morality. It cannot serve as a standard or guideline that a society follows because there are several problems attached to it. One is psychological egoism is not a sound theory. Another is that ethical egoism is not really a moral theory at all. And the last is that ethical egoism ignores blatant wrongs.