Ethical and psychological Egoism Essay Example for Free

Ethical and psychological Egoism Essay Egoism is the theory suggesting that the motivation and goal of a particular action is the self. Egoism in a general context has two variants, normative and descriptive. The concept of the descriptive variant suggests that egoism as a factual description of human affairs and cannot be described any other way (Moseley, 2006). The normative side gives a conception that individuals should be motivated, without consideration to their current state of motivation (Moseley, 2006). The two variants conflict in principle alone which insinuates a debate on the rightness or wrongness of particular human acts throughout history. Ethical Egoism Ethical Egoism is a normative ethical standpoint which implies moral people should act in accordance to their self-interest. Ethical egoism has three formulations; personal, individual and universal (Waller, 2005). Individual ethical egoism stresses that a person should do what is most beneficial to them (Waller, 2005). Personal ethical egoism suggests that actions should be grounded on a persons own self-interest without concern to what others around him should do, while the concept of universal ethical egoism holds that everyone should act in the basis of their own interests (Waller, 2005). All in all, virtues that suffice an individuals self-interest is egoistic, otherwise it is non-egoistic (Waller, 2005). The strong version of Ethical egoism suggests that the promotion of an individuals own good is moral, not promoting ones own good is deemed as immoral (Moseley, 2006). The weak version still holds that morality is the promotion of ones own good, however, it does not necessarily mean that it is immoral (Moseley, 2006). There are just implications of conditions that the evasion of personal interest has a possibility to be moral (Moseley, 2006). Psychological Egoism Psychological Egoism, on-the-other-hand, posits that every human action has an underlying selfishness, and even altruistic acts have inner selfish motivations (Hazlitt Cook, 1991). Psychological Egoism is a form of egoism under the descriptive variant, suggesting how people should go about themselves. The principles of psychological egoism and its assumtive nature are acquainted to several criticisms that are very crucial (Moseley, 2006). The fallacy of Psychological Egoism  The detractors of Psychological Egoism ground its fallacy on the rejection of the notion that the theory is flawless, that it is structured in such a way that it cannot be approved or disapproved (Hazlitt Cook, 1991). It is evident on the Psychological egoists advocacy that altruism is a mere act of acquiring a good feeling for doing altruistic actions. In a broader scenario, the person doing an act, either selfish or unselfish, is doing what interests him or her which makes the act ultimately selfish (Moseley, 2006). In another note, the fallacy of psychological egoism lies in the suggestion that people only do what makes them feel good. In this context, the description of a Psychological Egoist may project an unselfish person (Moseley, 2006). Furthermore, there is confusion in the concept of psychological egoism found in the object of desire and the subsequent results of the fulfillment of that desire (Moseley, 2006). The Difference between Psychological and Ethical Egoism It is of vital importance to distinguish the two from one another since the two forms of egoism conflict in advocacy, motivation and goal. Ethical Egoism per se, postulates that the promotion of an individuals own good conforms to the standards of morality (Waller, 2005). In contrast to the Psychological Egoist claim that focuses on how people act, not on how they ought to act. The doctrine of motivation for Ethical Egoism lies within self-interest, while Psychological Egoists are motivated by the rational self-interest, even in an act that tends to be altruistic in nature. Self-Interest and Selfishness Self-interest is defined as an agent that stimulates an individuals concern over a particular issue or matter. Self-interest is the element that governs human action. Selfishness, meanwhile is the devotion to satisfy ones own end and interest. It is simply an individuals concern for personal welfare. Philosophically, the two terms may be synonimous to each other as the two terms may refer to the placement of personal needs above others, however, self-interest and selfishness can be deemed independently as self-interest is a subjective element in a persons perspective which can be directed to the self or for others.

U.S. Foreign Policy Essay -- Politics Government

Throughout the course of history, the United States has remained consistent with its national interest by taking many different actions in foreign policy. There have been both immediate and long term results of these actions. Foreign policy is the United States policy that defines how we deal with other countries economically and politically. It is made by congress, the president, and the people. Some of the motivations for United States foreign policy are national security, economics, and idealism. The United States entry into World War I in 1917 and the escalation of the Vietnam War in 1964 and the both had great impact on the United States. A major type of foreign policy in the 1964 was containment. The Vietnam War was fought between the communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The United States supported South Vietnam and other communist countries supported North Vietnam. In 1950, the United States were scared of the domino effect and didn?t want to become communist. The United States, at this point, offers 2.5 billion dollars to aid France. The United States involvement in Vietnam had begun. By 1969 the United States had 543,000 troops in Vietnam engaged in a war to try to end communist containment. The escalation of the War in Vietnam was a direct result of the inability of the U.S. to make a firm commitment during the early stages of the conflict. In 1954, the battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought. This forced the French to retreat. In 1964, an American ship was attacked by the North Vietnamese in the Gulf of Tonkin. Congress then issues the Tonkin Resolution. The Tonkin Resolution granted President L yndon B. Johnson the authority to assist any Southeast Asian country. In 1965, Americas first combat ... ...1919, World War I was offically over. The Treaty of Versailles was signed blaming the war on Germany. It made new nations and dimiliterized Germany. As a result of the treaty, the League of Nations was established. The goals of the League of Nations was to have international organization, improving global quality of life, and to avoid war. Foreign relations are highly complex and controversial. Everything, such as, formal and informal contacts with other nations and social and cultural contacts have to be recognized when a foreign policy is established. The United States have taken many different foreign policy actions since 1890. Some have been successful and some have not. Both internationaltion and containment were very important foreign policies but there were many more. Isolationism and Imperialism aslo had a huge impact on how America is today.

Religious Believers Understand More Essay

To discuss this statement first we must look at the definition of understanding. Religious believers and scientists would probably differ in their definitions and therefore disagree from the beginning. A religious person would perhaps say that understanding the world means knowing how to be a good person, how to live a good life and fulfill God’s plan. A scientist would probably disagree, saying that understanding the world is having a wide knowledge and good comprehension of how the world works including theories like evolution and understanding why and how things occur. Another slight problem with this statement is its implication that one cannot be a religious believer and a scientist when in fact there are many religious scientists who seem to have science and religion existing harmoniously in their lives. If we are defining understanding as understanding how to live a good life, then I believe that the Bible and Religious Believers do understand more about the world than Scientists do. Religious Believers have a better understanding of how the universe and mans place in it was set up, but it’s hard for people to understand correctly because it’s not in scientific terms, it’s in myths and metaphors. You can’t see it with our available scientific instruments, it’s something you experience. Religious Believers have direct guidance from their Holy texts, e.g. for the Jewish faith, the Torah on how to live their life. They are taught, by the Ten Commandments, that they are not to steal, not to commit adultery and not to murder. One criticism of scientists is that a number of assumption are made to give parameters to an experiment. Also perception can be fallible, as we expect to see things, so we see them. We don’t expect to see them, so we miss them out. In response to this, in the parable the invisible gardener; where the religious believer trusts that the gardener came but couldn’t be seen and the other (scientist) believing that there couldn’t be a gardener because there was no empirical evidence of this. This shows that even though there was no evidence of the gardener or God they still hold a belief, whereas the scientist had to be proven. Some claim that believers only want hope. Religious Believers hope for the return of their â€Å"invisible gardener†, while New Atheists (Richard Dawkins and his followers) have no expectations of a new life after death, thereforelive their lives without fear of an almighty God smiting them down. In this situation, one could argue that the Religious Believer is playing it safe, however they still understand the world better, in many cases they see it as an almighty being’s creation. In conclusion, I believe that, although Scientists have proof of the age of the earth, and that they have proven many facts of the Earth, They do not have as good guidance as Religious Believers do on understanding life.

The Progressive Era Of America - 1297 Words

The Progressive Era was a period that changed America greatly due to political reforms and social activism. This era brought forth many changes in America and almost all Americans were involved in this movement somehow. This period began in the late 1800s and lasted until the mid-1900s. The Progressive Era was one of the biggest movements in America. The main point of this movement was to purify the government. Several historians have wrote excerpts on their perspective of the Progressive Era. George Mowry, Joseph Huthmacher, and Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore are three key Progressive historians. In their writings, each of the historians explain who the Progressives were, who was affected during this time, events that took place in the community and government, and other topics. The first historian, George Mowry, wrote a piece called â€Å"Progressivism: Middle Class Disillusionment†. Mowry describes the progressives as â€Å"self-made† men, who were around the ages of 38-42 , they were native born Americans who were educated. Mowry also explains the Progressives were conservative and considered good servants to the people. The occupations of the Progressives were very widespread ranging from lawyers to newspaper editors and then to independent manufactures. Basically, Progressives were considered people who were able to survive. In Mowry’s writings he explained how there was no Orientals, whites held the supremacy. The Progressives wanted everything to be about the whites, they did notShow MoreRelatedThe Progressive Era in America1086 Words   |  4 PagesIn American history, the period between the late 1800s and early 1900s is often called the Progressive Era. This was a time of enormous social, political, and economic change that touched every aspect of American life. 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