Delos Santos, Mary Rose Penaso GE08 ETHICS

CEIT-29-502P Assignment #04

Essay: Defend why Ethical Egoism can be considered an Ethical Theory.

The ethical theory known as ethical egoism states that we are always morally required to
do what's in our own self-interest. The view isn't that we are selfish, this is psychological egoism,
but that we ought to be. This short essay explains how Ethical Egoism and Ethical Theory are
related to one another.

Although ethical egoism is the moral doctrine that everyone ought to act to promote his
or her own interests exclusively. In contrast to psychological egoism, ethical egoism makes a
claim about how people should behave rather than how they actually behave. Thus, proposing
that ethical egoism is under the theory of ethical theories. The purpose of ethical theories is to
put in place a system of principles individuals use to make moral choices and to justify those
choices, by doing this, the ultimate goal is to help people lead the best life as possible for
themselves and for society. Ethical egoism approaches these goals in many different ways.

Ethical egoism contends each person has a duty to act in ways that promote his or her
self-interest above the interests of all others. When a moral decision must be made, the person
should exclusively consider how the results will benefit him or her. This differs from other types
of ethical theories which give weight to how the choice will affect others as well. For example, if
you would benefit more from keeping $10,000 than you would from donating it to charity then
the morally correct decision would be to keep the money for yourself if you are an ethical egoist.

The Ethical Egoism claims to be objectively true based in Ethical Theory, what is right and
wrong comes down to the beliefs, values, and interests of the person making the moral decision.
In fact because no one can never predict the full ramifications of their ethical decisions, it could
be argued that ethical egoists are merely basing their decisions on what they perceive to be
best for them at the time and not on objective criteria.

The Difference Between Ethical Egoism & Ethical Subjectivism - The Classroom