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Ethical Egoism Vs Ethical Subjectivism

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Ethical Egoism and Ethical Subjectivism are two ethical standpoints as explained in the book “The Elements of Moral Philosophy” by James Rachels. Rachels (2014) claims that “Ethical Egoism is the doctrine that each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively” (James Rachels, 2014. ). And He goes on to explain the moral ideas of ethical egoism by comparing it to psychological egoism. He says that psychological egoism makes a claim about human nature, or about the way things are, however, ethical egoism is about morality, or about the way things should be. (James Rachels, 2014). According to Rachels (2014) ethical egoism is the notion that people should act according to their self-interests, and that we only ought to feel …show more content…

He states that according to the theory, there is no such thing as right or wrong, that morality is just a matter of feeling rather than reason. (James Rachels, 2014). According to Rachels, Ethical Subjectivism is merely the approval or disapproval of things, in other words, if a person says that something is morally good or bad, this means that he or she approves of that thing, or disapproves of it, and nothing more. (James Rachels, 2014. P.35). He claims that Ethical Subjectivism was developed to answer moral questions such as: what is the meaning of the words “good” or “bad”? Whose opinion is correct? And what is the purpose of moral language? (James Rachels, 2014, p.35). Ethical subjectivism answers these questions because it claims there are no “objective” values in morality. In this view, moral thoughts are grounded in the person’s feelings, and nothing more. Though when it comes to objections, ethical subjectivism is no exception, it is even far more vulnerable that ethical egoism because of it’s claim that “ethics has no moral …show more content…

The first objection is that Simple Subjectivism does not account for moral disagreement. (James Rachels, 2014). For example, Matt Foreman, the director of a gay rights organization, believes that being gay is morally acceptable, while congresswoman Michele Bachmann, believes that it is morally wrong. These clearly opposing claims can not be justified by simple subjectivism, because it states that there is no “objective” value in moral claims. Therefore, it leads us for conclusion that both Matt Foreman and Michele Bachmann are just stating their claims but not disagreeing. These makes simple subjectivism unacceptable as a valid moral

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An egoist always has their own mindset and thinks without the influence of any other person. This definition fits Prometheus very well, in that throughout the story, he struggles to fight the demon of wanting to learn more than he was allowed to. This ultimately led him to the discovery of the light bulb, which meant he was defying the rules of his society. Obviously, the discovery of the light bulb is a great technological advancement, a discovery which Prometheus wanted nothing more than to share with the world. As case in point, “We can give our brothers a new light, cleaner and brighter, than any they have ever known” (60).

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Mackie’s Arguments Against Ethical Objectivism According to the book The Fundamentals of Ethics, it is stated that ethical objectivism “is the view that moral standards are objectively correct and that some moral claims are objectively true” (Shafer-Landau, p. 294). It is the belief that each individual or person has their own set of moral principles. J.L Mackie explains two arguments against ethical objectivism, which include the argument from relativity and the argument from queerness. In addition he explains and defends his error theory.

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Ethical Egoism is a simplistic approach to morality which reduces notions of justice and ethics to mere self-indulgent desires. This philological approach asserts that an action which satiates an individual 's desires or inclinations is right, while an action that goes against an individual 's wishes is categorically immoral. In sum, Ethical Egoism puts the individual 's wants, interests, and aspiration at the forefront of morality. The movie Rain Man is riddled with instances and scenarios of the protagonist Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) employing Ethical Egoism. In fact, the entire premise of the movie and the development of the plot rely on Charlie continually using Ethical Egoism to make decisions.

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I agree when Rachels says that the best argument in establishing Ethical Egoism as a viable theory of morality is Thomas Hobbes principle that we should do unto others because if we do, others will more likely to do unto us (Pojman and Vaughn, 2014, pg. 527). People should avoid harming others because we should care about the interests of other people for the very same reason we care about our own interests; for their needs and desires are comparable to our own (Pojman and Vaughn, 2014, pg. 532). Therefore, I believe that Rachel makes the better case regarding ethical

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Psychological egoism asserts that people always act selfishly and self-centered. Ethical egoism asserts that people should always act in his or her own self interest. Psychological egoism defines how we are as human beings. It is the prime idea that selfless acts do not exist. It is the belief that all people are selfish.

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