Sakshi Education
By Srirangam Sriram, Sriram's IAS, New Delhi.
As a school of ethics, egoism holds that one’s self is, or should be, the motivation and the goal of one’s own action. It is both descriptive and normative. The term “egoism” derives from “ego,” the Latin term for “I” in English. Egoism should be distinguished from egotism, which means a psychological overvaluation of one’s own importance, or of one’s own activities.
Altruism is the opposite of egoism. It is working for others for their good.
Psychological egoism is the thesis that we are always deep down motivated by what we perceive to be in our own self-interest. For example, Suresh saves Ramesh from a burning office building. He is risking his own life in the process. But the psychological egoist holds that there is no altruism and he might have wanted to gain a good feeling from being a hero, or to avoid social reprimand that would follow had she not helped Ramesh.
Ethical egoism says that the promotion of one’s own good is in accordance with morality. At an extreme level, it is held that it is always moral to promote one’s own good, and it is never moral not to promote it. Moderate version says that although it is always moral to promote one’s own good, it is not necessarily never moral to not. That is, there may be conditions in which the avoidance of personal interest may be a moral action.
The sweeping assertion raises the question whether human actions universally can be attributed to either egoism or altruism as there is a large area of grey in between.
In an imaginary construction of a world inhabited by a single being, it is possible that the pursuit of morality is the same as the pursuit of self-interest in that what is good for the agent is the same as what is in the agent’s interests. Not in a historically known society.
Psychological egoism is not identical to what is often called “psychological hedonism.” Psychological hedonism restricts the range of self-interested motivations to only pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Thus, it is a specific version of psychological egoism.
Psychological egoism is attributed to only Thomas Hobbes (1651) and Jeremy Bentham (1781).
Altruism is the opposite of egoism. It is working for others for their good.
Psychological egoism is the thesis that we are always deep down motivated by what we perceive to be in our own self-interest. For example, Suresh saves Ramesh from a burning office building. He is risking his own life in the process. But the psychological egoist holds that there is no altruism and he might have wanted to gain a good feeling from being a hero, or to avoid social reprimand that would follow had she not helped Ramesh.
Ethical egoism says that the promotion of one’s own good is in accordance with morality. At an extreme level, it is held that it is always moral to promote one’s own good, and it is never moral not to promote it. Moderate version says that although it is always moral to promote one’s own good, it is not necessarily never moral to not. That is, there may be conditions in which the avoidance of personal interest may be a moral action.
The sweeping assertion raises the question whether human actions universally can be attributed to either egoism or altruism as there is a large area of grey in between.
In an imaginary construction of a world inhabited by a single being, it is possible that the pursuit of morality is the same as the pursuit of self-interest in that what is good for the agent is the same as what is in the agent’s interests. Not in a historically known society.
Psychological egoism is not identical to what is often called “psychological hedonism.” Psychological hedonism restricts the range of self-interested motivations to only pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Thus, it is a specific version of psychological egoism.
Psychological egoism is attributed to only Thomas Hobbes (1651) and Jeremy Bentham (1781).Published date : 06 Jan 2021 01:43PM
