1. Chapter Six:
Egoism, Self-Interest,
and Altruism
Nestlé's infant formula, the notorious example of
selfishness in the business world

2. Two Main Types of Egoism
Psychological Egoism:
We always do that act that we perceive
to be in our own best self-interest.
Ethical Egoism:
Everyone ought always to do those acts that
will serve his or her own best self-interest.

3. The Argument from
Self-Satisfaction
S. Everyone is an egoist because everyone
always tries to do what will bring him or her
satisfaction
S1. For any act A, everyone does A in
order to obtain satisfaction

4. The Argument from
Self-Satisfaction
S2. We all do the
act that we most want to
do, and as a consequence, we are satisfied
by the success of carrying out the act.
S3. We always try to do what we most
want to do and, as a consequence of success
in carrying out the act, experience
satisfaction.

5. The Paradox of Hedonism
The best way
to get happiness is to forget
about it.
Worthy goals will indirectly bring about
happiness.
Focus on the goals, not the happiness.
Seems to suggest psychological egoism has
severe problems

6. The Argument from SelfDeception
Alter interpretation
of S to include
subconscious motivations.
Thesis now states that sometimes we are
self-deceived about our motivation, but
whenever we overcome self-deception and
really look deep into our motivational
schemes, we find an essential selfishness.

7. Ethical Egoism
Everyone ought to always do those acts
that will best serve his or her own best selfinterest.
Morally right actions are those that
maximize the best interest of oneself.
Does not maintain that every person ought
to serve the best interests of me specifically.

8. The Argument from Strict
Psychological Egoism
1. We all always seek to maximize our own
self-interest.
2. If one cannot do an act, one has no
obligation to do that act.
3. Altruistic acts involve putting other
people's interests ahead of our own.

9. The Argument from Strict
Psychological Egoism
4. But, altruism contradicts psychological
egoism and so is impossible
5. Therefore, altruistic acts are never morally
obligatory.

10. Hobbes's Argument from
Predominant Psychological
Egoism
Selfishness forces us into chaos, and
selfishness forces us to solve the problem
through mutually agreed-on moral codes.
 Problem: assumes we cannot do any better
than be egoists, so we should be as
strategic about our egoism as possible.

11. Smith's Economic Argument
Individual self-interest in
a competitive
marketplace produces a state of optimal
goodness for society at large
The result of an “invisible hand”
A two-tier system
–Tier 2 General goal: social utility
–Tier 1 Individual motivation: egoistic

12. Rand's Argument for the Virtue
of Selfishness
Selfishness is a virtue
Altruism a vice, a totally
destructive idea
that leads to the undermining of individual
worth
Every individual has a duty to seek his or
her own good first, regardless of how it
affects others

13. Arguments Against
Ethical Egoism
1.The Inconsistent Outcomes
Argument:
Ethical Egoism cannot be true because
it fails to meet a necessary
condition of morality – being a guide to
action

14. Arguments Against
Ethical Egoism
1.The Publicity
Argument:
An egoist cannot publicly advertise his
egoistic project without harming that very
project.

15. Arguments Against
Ethical Egoism
1.The Paradox of Ethical Egoism :
To reach the goal of egoism one must
give up egoism and become (to some extent)
an altruist, the very antithesis of egoism.

16. Arguments Against
Ethical Egoism
1.The Argument from Counterintuitive
Consequences:
It is an absolute moral system that not
only permits egoistic behavior, but also
demands it.

17. Arguments Against
Ethical Egoism
5. The Problem of Future Generations :
Egoism seems unable to deal with the
problem of obligations to posterity.
 The egoist gains nothing by preserving
natural resources for future generations
that do not yet exist and thus can give no
benefit to the egoist.

18. Evolution and Altruism
Sociobiology
theorizes that social
structures and behavioral patterns, including
morality, have a biological base, explained
by evolutionary theory.
There is a difference between pure altruism
and reciprocal altruism but we have a duty to
both kinds of altruism.