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Author Question: In his arguments against psychological egoism, James Rachels exposed three underlying confusions ... (Read 99 times)

Marty

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In his arguments against psychological egoism, James Rachels exposed three underlying confusions that account for the persistence of this view over time.
 
  Explain psychological egoism and the three confusions.

Question 2

What is ethical egoism?
 
  What are the differences between the views of Ayn Rand and Nietzsche?



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kescobar@64

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Answer to Question 1

- Psychological egoism: The view that we are compelled by our psychological makeup always to pursue our self-interest above all else.
- Rachels pointed out that these confusions are false:
- Confusion 1: The idea that selfishness means the same thing as self-interest.
- Confusion 2: The idea that every action is done either from self-interest or from other-regarding motives.
- Confusion 3: The idea that a concern for one's own welfare is incompatible with any genuine concern for the welfare of others.

Answer to Question 2

- Ethical egoism: The view that we act morally when we pursue our own self-interest, that the highest moral value for all humans is to pursue their own happiness.
- According to Nietzsche, people who are weak fear and envy the strong individualists and resent their independence, their passion, their creative visions. Parasitic second-handers constrain the strong individualists by creating a perverse system of morality that villainizes the true individual and celebrates the weak altruist devoted to self-sacrifice. The pursuit of self-interest is branded as selfishness, whereas the unnatural denial of self-interest is considered to be a saintly virtue.
- According to Rand, t is our moral duty to pursue our own rational self-interest. The virtue of altruism that traditional ethical theories and religions recommend is actually a vice, because it encourages people not to pursue their own self-interest as their top priority. According to Rand, the self-sacrifice associated with altruism discourages us from fulfilling our greatest potential. She claimed that pursuing your self-interest means creating a value system that is not destructive to yourself, nor is it destructive to others.




Marty

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Reply 2 on: Jul 14, 2018
Wow, this really help


ghepp

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Reply 3 on: Yesterday
Gracias!

 

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