RKUD 3020 : ISLAMIC ETHICS KIRKHS, IIUM

1. ETHICAL EGOISM
INTRODUCTION
• Henry Sidgwick (1874)
• Yang Zhu (4th century)-Yangism view of ‘wei wo’ or ething for
myself
• ethical egoist believes that whatever maximizes one’s personal
good is right
• thus, to act that best further this end is one sole obligation

2. ITS PRINCIPLE
• 3-always to maximize one’s own personal good as an end
• -EE hold that as one should maximize one own good as an
end, n x as a means to anything else in all one does
• -it is an obligation to everyone to act that best furthers this
end
• -EE need x be any more conceited than anyone else, nor need
they selfishly disregard the interest of other, nor promote
their own good at other expense
• -EE may do but EE need x

3. • -whether or x EE do depends on whether EE believe that doing so is
the best means of maximizing their own good
• -if EE does x think that, EE may do things for others and see if it
promotes one good
• -it might or might x be that everyone’s acting on EE would bring the
greatest good, whether it did would be incidental (minor) to egoism
• -in other words, egoism-the one, fundamental obligation each of us
has is to maximize one’s own good
• -if doing so brings about a greater good, fine n if does x, that is fine too
• -no one has an obligation to bring about such a greater good other
than by making contribution to it entailed by maximizing one’s good

4. • 3-to demean altruism(self-sacrifice)
• - EE disregard other person was more important than that
individual.
• - EE belittling oneself, putting oneself down by valuing oneself
less than the other.
• In short,
-it elevates self-interest and the self to a status x granted to
others
-one should x sacrifice one’s own interest for the of other
interest
-it allows to disregard of other interest as long as it is to satisfy
the self interest of the agent

5. TYPES OF EE
1) Personal EE
- “I am going to act only in my own interest, and everyone else can
do whatever they want.”
2) Individual EE
- “Everyone should act in my own interest.”
3) Universal EE
- “Each individual should act in his or her own self interest.”

6. 3 OBJECTIONS TO EE
1) If there are too many people to act on such principle, the result
is greed and selfishness
2) It requires one to be able to assess accurately what and how
those consequences will be of all the acts open to u in a
situation
3) The serious implication of a situation in which trust is at stake