Transcript Egoism - Ursula Stange

PHIL 2525
Lecture 9
Is me-first all right?
Halloween at the
Campbellford Legion...
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Thought crime?
Racist?
Insensitive?
Clueless?
Harmless fun?
Prince Harry
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Anti-Semitic?
Disgusting?
Insensitive?
Bad taste?
Plain stupid?
Difference between Egoist and Egotist
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Egoist: thinking that your purpose in life is to
look out for yourself – there is no obligation to
look out for any one else – in fact, it would be
morally wrong
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Egotist: thinking that you’re the best thing
since sliced bread
Pink Shirt Day
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Shepherd and Price bought 50 pink shirts and
brought them to school in solidarity with
another youth who was bullied for wearing a
pink polo shirt...
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The last Wednesday
of February is
Pink Shirt Day
“The achievement of
his own happiness is
man’s highest moral
purpose.” Ayn Rand
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"What shall we do and how shall we live?
According to Plato and Tolstoy and other
reliable observers, this is our most important
question! We should not trust any philosophy
that makes this question appear foolish."
[Peter Singer, The Player and the Cards: Nihilism and Legal
Theory, 94 Yale L. J. 1, 3 (1984)]
More than 27,000 children die every
day from preventable causes
964 dead children for every one
of us in this classroom…every day
Matthew 25:40
"I was hungry and you
fed me; I was thirsty
and you gave me
drink... truly I say to
you, as you did it to
one of the least of
these my brethren, you
did it unto me."
Artist:
Kathe Kollwitz
Egoism versus Altruism
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Psychological approaches
are descriptive
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Egoism: All acts are
basically selfish
Altruism: Some of our
acts are ‘naturally’ altruistic
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Ethical approaches
are prescriptive
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Egoism: You ought
to be selfish
Altruism: You ought
to be altruistic
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Is altruism possible?
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We always do what we most
want to do….p.65
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But do we?
We always do
what makes us
feel good...p. 66
Rachels answer:
 The strategy of reinterpreting motives
We always do
what makes us
feel good...p. 66
Sometimes there’s
more than one
motive...
Altruism
An aside...
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If every action is, indeed, selfish, what can
unselfish mean?
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And if unselfish doesn’t mean anything, what
can selfish mean?
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Why do we have those words?
Ethical Egoism
Me first? Me only?
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Looking out for yourself doesn’t mean not
helping others...
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Looking out for yourself doesn’t mean you get
to do whatever you want no matter what...
5.3: Arguments for Ethical Egoism
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Altruism is self-defeating
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Ayn Rand’s argument
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Ethical Egoism as compatible with
commonsense morality
5.4: Arguments against
Ethical Egoism
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It endorses wicked actions when they promote
self-interest
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It cannot handle conflicts of interest
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It’s logically inconsistent
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It is unacceptably arbitrary
Ayn Rand
essence of my philosophy
(while standing on one foot)…
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1. Metaphysics:
2. Epistemology:
3. Ethics:
4. Politics:
Objective Reality
Reason
Self-interest
Capitalism
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“The achievement of
his own happiness is
man’s highest moral
purpose.”
Ayn Rand
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=7ukJiBZ8_4k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=pMTDaVpBPR0&feature=related
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Ayn Rand, born in
Russia, was
interviewed in the
March 1964 issue
From the Playboy interview...
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PLAYBOY: As one who champions the cause of
enlightened self-interest, how do you feel about dedicating
one's life to hedonistic self-gratification?
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RAND: I am profoundly opposed to the philosophy of
hedonism. Hedonism is the doctrine which holds that the
good is whatever gives you pleasure and, therefore,
pleasure is the standard of morality. Objectivism holds that
the good must be defined by a rational standard of value,
that pleasure is not a first cause, but only a consequence,
that only the pleasure which proceeds from a rational value
judgment can be regarded as moral...
From the Playboy interview...
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PLAYBOY: Would it be against the principles of
Objectivism for anyone to sacrifice himself by
stepping in front of a bullet to protect another
person?
RAND: No. It depends on the circumstances. I
would step in the way of a bullet if it were aimed at
my husband. It is not self-sacrifice to die
protecting that which you value: If the value is
great enough, you do not care to exist without it.
This applies to any alleged sacrifice for those one
loves.
Garrett Hardin: Lifeboat Ethics
Freedom in a commons
brings ruin to all.
Possible solutions:
 Privatization: divide it up and everyone manages
their part.
 Socialism: appoint someone and give them the
power to manage the whole thing.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8gAMFTAt2M
What is your answer to Lucy’s question?
Next week:
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On to the Social Contract....what do we owe
each other and why? Where does society come
from?
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Sample questions for the midterm test
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Short essay questions for the midterm test