The Individual Good, Autonomy, and Individual EthicsA Tract Book EssayByAnthony J. Fejfar, J.D., Esq., Coif © Copyright 2007 by Anthony J. Fejfar Plato argued that the end of man, both as an individual and as asociety, was the Good. Aristotle, on the other hand argued for the CommonGood as did Thomas Aquinas. In the Treatise on Law, in the SummaTheologica, Thomas Aquinas argued that the end of law is the commongood. I argue that Plato was right and that the end of law is the Good.The problem, is, however, that some people tend to conflate the Goodwith the Common Good. For those using conventional morality, the onlyGood is the Common Good. So, to clarify, I argue that the Good is anIndividual Good. The Individual Good starts with you (or me) theindividual person and works outward from there. The Greatest Good is myRational Self Interest. The second Greatest Good is my Autonomy. Thethird Greatest Good is my use of the ethics of the Ethical Matrix. Now it may appear that in choosing the Individual Good that I am being egoistic and selfish. This, however, is not the case. The Self, of my