Ethics And Utilitarianism

Chapter six is the summary of an argument that began in the very first chapter of the book

“If civilization is to survive, it is the morality of altruism that people must learn to reject.” -Ayn Rand. To be compassionate and unselfish seems to be a noble and magnanimous pursuit. Altruism is admired, it is beautiful, and it is praised.

People who are altruistic are generous, kind, and very charitable. They are the kind of people whose stories always live on even after they leave this earth. For example, mother Teresa was an altruist who passed away, but she is still remembered by those she helped. Egoism makes people arrogant, and it makes them believe they are superior. Egoistic people don’t show compassion others, they make others unhappy, and they are uncomfortable to be around.

All people want to benefit themselves and others around them because that’s how they are naturally built. Humans are naturally inherited good because they are willing to risk themselves for others, do random acts of kindness, and are willing to take care of each other. One reason why humans are inherited

The way people give of their time and their money says a lot about the individual. Whether they do it with a selfish heart or not, nobody knows. It works for a while but giving with a selfish heart the giver will get burned out, simply because their heart isn’t really all in. Then everyone else will know that that person only gave of their time because they had to. They wanted to impress others.

They rarely exhibit traits from both. The obvious explanation for this would be that it ’s because everybody has a priority, and therefore must choose between helping themselves or others.

It because psychological egoism states that every act of every person is motivated by self-interest, it is universal. The meaning of selfishness, James Rachels suggest that "psychological egoists make a silly mistake and that if one believes that people are genuinely altruistic, and then you have nothing to fear from the egoist. Rachels points out that it is precisely

Being selfish is only part of who we are and what we need to flourish according to virtue ethicists; Aristotle,

Caleb Stephens April 15, 2017 Introduction to Philosophy The goal of this paper is to demonstrate that Philippa Foot’s objection, raised to her own argument against utilitarianism, is correct. Her initial thesis is that benevolence, while the foundation of utilitarianism, is an internal end of morality, rather than the ultimate end of morality. The possible objection to this that there must be some overarching reason behind morality, which must imply a form of consequentialism. The response she offers is that there should be some other form of morality, which is a weak argument, as it does not provide an alternate conception of morality itself.

Selfishness and selflessness can be balanced, and this balance is crucial to a functioning

Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill are two of the most notable philosophers in normative ethics. This branch of ethics is based on moral standards that determine what is considered morally right and wrong. This paper will focus on Immanuel Kant’s theory of deontology and J.S. Mill’s theory of utilitarianism. While Mill takes a consequentialist approach, focused on the belief that actions are right if they are for the benefit of a majority, Kant is solely concerned with the nature of duty and obligation, regardless of the outcome. This paper will also reveal that Kantian ethics, in my opinion, is a better moral law to follow compared to the utilitarian position.

Kantian ethics departs significantly from utilitarianism’s attention to consequences; the focus instead is with principles—a deontological strategy. Kant argued that individuals should be taken care of not simply as a way to one’s own ends but as ends with themselves (Jones, Felps, & Bigley, 2007). This emphasis on “respect for persons” stems from the view that individuals should be thought to be independent agents, with interests of the own and the judgment to do something on them. In other words, they should always be accorded the freedom to do something autonomously. Kant gave fantastic importance to reasons for acting—making the proper decisions for the proper reasons being the final goal.

1. Abstract Prosocial behaviour covers a wide range of actions that are intended to help or benefit other people such as helping, showing compassion, sharing, comforting and cooperation. Altruism is when the motivation for prosocial behaviour is to help others without any thought to what you might get in return. The difference between prosocial behaviour and altruism is that prosocial behaviour is the helping actions a person takes, while altruism is one possible motivation for those actions taken. Prosocial behaviour does not need to be motivated by altruism all the time and altruistic motivation does not need to produce prosocial behaviour.

Psychological egoism asserts that people always act selfishly and self-centered. Ethical egoism asserts that people should always act in his or her own self interest. Psychological egoism defines how we are as human beings. It is the prime idea that selfless acts do not exist. It is the belief that all people are selfish.

Whenever there is no reason explained behind the selfish act being committed, some do not mind at all while others think that the people who made the act of selfishness no longer cares about their