Download James Rachels, “Ethical Egoism”.

James Rachels, “Ethical Egoism,” from ch. 6 The Elements of Moral Philosophy Winter 2015
1. Terms and Phrases: Do you know what these words mean?
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Altruism
normative [and descriptive] ethical theories
common-sense view of morality
willy-nilly
Ayn Rand
Thomas Hobbes
Golden RUle
Others?
2. Structure of Rachels’ Argument
1. (6.1) Definitions, Distinctions, and the Issue:
“Is there a Duty to Contribute to Famine Relief (i.e., care for others)? (65-66)
a. Presents “common-sense morality”: although we should look after our own selfinterest, we also have a duty to care for others, especially if it’s at minimum cost
to ourselves.
b. Presents viewpoint of “Ethical Egoism”: we ought to look out only for what is in
our own self-interest (i.e., no “natural” duty to help others).
c. Distinguishes psychological egoism (a descriptive theory of ethics) from
Ethical Egoism (a normative theory of ethics).
2. (6.2) Three Arguments in Favour of Ethical Egoism
a. Arg. 1: (note points a, b, c and later reference to them as “bungling,” butting in”
and “depriving people of self-respect”) (67-68)
b. Arg. 2: (Ayn Rand) (Note how Rand depicts “altruism” and the altruist, his
summary of the argument (70-71) and Rachels’ Critique (71)
c. Arg. 3: A “less radical” critique which claims our ethical lives can be boiled down
to self-interest. (Note a, b and c points which show how not harming, lying, etc…
to others is in our self-interest). Note the “two serious objections” to this
argument (72-73).
3. (6.3) Three Arguments Against Ethical Egoism
a. (1) Arg. 1: Kurt Baier’s argument against EE (73-74)
b. Problems with a (74)
c. (2) Logical consistency critique of EE (75-6)
d. Problems with c.
e. (3) Rachels argument against EE (76-78)
Key Questions:
1. What is the key difference between psychological egoism and ethical egoism?
2. How much should we sacrifice in the service of famine relief according to what Rachels
describes as the“common-sense” view of morality (65-66)
3. What is the key assumption of the “common-sense” view of morality?
4. What is the basic premise of ethical egoism and how does it differ from the “Common
sense” view of morality?
5. How is ethical egoism different than hedonism or just always doing what one likes
regardless of possible harm to one’s self?
6. What key arguments are used to support ethical egoism? (“Bungling”, “butting in” and
depriv[ation] of “self-respect”)
7. Provide Rachels’ summary of Ayn Rand’s argument (69-71).
8. Provide Rachels’ critique of Ayn Rand’s argument ( )
9. How does the “less radical interpretation” of ethical egoism (p 71, (3)) lead to the
“Golden Rule”?
10. What is Kurt Baier’s criticism of Ethical Egoism?
11. What is the problem with Baier’s criticism of Ethical Egoism according to Rachels?
12. How is EE supposedly not logically consistent?
13. What is the problem with the logical consistency critique of EE?
14. In what way is ethical egoism based on the same logic as racism according to Rachels?
15. Does Rachels adequately argue that Ethical Egoism is an untenable theory of morality?
Why or why not?