Philosophical Position of Ethical Egoism

MacKinnon appears to believe that it would not, implying that the realities of social fundamental interaction are such that ethical egoism could not be sustained. However, as MacKinnon also points out, classical stinting theory provides a rationale for egoism.

This point is also make by Nozick, who homogeneous MacKinnon cites the working of the " unseeable hand," whereby, as Adam Smith illustrious in Wealth of Nations, "every individual intends only his witness gain, and he is in this, as in so galore(postnominal) other cases, led by an invisible hand to elevate an end which was no part of his intention."2 No honourable construction is placed on the political workings of this invisible hand, which appears merely to be descriptive, not normative, the result of the enactment of a process that inheres in a political system both(prenominal) appropriately and workably balanced betwixt individual and social rights and obligations. MacKinnon says that this military capability "does raise questions about those who are unable to compete or unable to do so without help."3

But, in the setting of ethical egoism, as articulated by Nozick but peradventure most famously by Ayn Rand, this invisible hand has a salutary, organizing effect on the social environment, such that individual expediency does not degenerate into anarchy. The debt that MacKinnon says ethical egoism has to classical economic theory

MacKinnon, Barbara. moral philosophy: supposition and Contemporary Issues. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1995.

According to MacKinnon, ethical egoism is a form of utilitarianism, to the extent that morality is perceived as "something that contributes to the well conduct [of society, i.e., the greatest good/happiness for the whole16] or detracts from it."17 The vested worry in contributing to the good of the whole lies in the individual's practical wish to participate in that good life in a way, or, as MacKinnon suggests, in obtaining "a genuine dignity, integrity, and self-respect."16 In this view, isolation of the extreme egoist who made a project of ignoring the needs, hopes, and desires of fellow members of society could over the considerable haul inure to the detriment of the egoist.

Thus, postulation how much profound, regular heroic, self-esteem and self-directed resources will compensate for the individual's waning perceive of social participation is legitimate. The obverse question, as MacKinnon notes, is "why I should be moral [i.e., extend myself] when it is not in my best interest to do so."19 This is precisely the question that Rand poses, also asking why one person is asked to extend and another is not, why different levels of responsibility are assigned to different individuals, and why penalties of responsibility are levied against those who are most responsible for themselves.

15John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism, ed. George Sher (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1979), 7ff.

1Barbara MacKinnon, Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1995), n.p.

The battle of morality . . . between those who claimed that your life belongs to God and those who claimed that it belongs to your neighbors--between those who preached that the good is self-sacrifice for the sake of ghosts in heaven and those who preached that the good is self-sacrifice for the sake of incompetents on earth.8

As developed by Rand, ethical egoism has a spirited comfort level with competitiveness
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