Normative Ethical Egoism

Egoism is broken down into four main groups: Psychological egoism, Normative egoism, Ethical egoism, and Rational egoism. Egoism in general values the desires of the individual the most, and this is most important to the individual only if the desires match what is in one’s own best interest. Psychological egoism is more centered upon the individual’s unconscious impulse to always behave in one’s own self-interest, and is more of a law than a theory because it must always hold true, and if it does every other theory falls apart.
Psychological egoism, is defined as an unconscious goal to maintain one’s own welfare. Stated more clearly, the individual can only act in his or her own self-interest, and the individual has no conscious choice in
(Moseley) In other words, normative egoism describes more of a behavior more than it is describing an action that one should adhere to. Psychological egoism would conflict with this theory on the grounds that what one is doing would be what one ought to do because of the fact that all actions have one underlying goal—self-preservation. Ayn Rand was one of the biggest believers in preservation of life—one’s own life—as her student, Leonard Peikoff, describes in his interpretations of Ayn Rand’s work: “The objectivist position can be indicated in three words. The ultimate value is life. The primary virtue is rationality. The proper beneficiary is oneself” (Peikoff 206). Ayn Rand was a big supporter in rational egoism as she believed that everyone should always act rationally while keeping their own happiness in mind. Of course, life would hold the greatest value because without life there would be no
For example, I kicked a hole in the wall one time when I lost control over my emotions. I told the truth not only because it was the right thing to do, but because I felt my own welfare would be preserved. Psychological egoism would claim that I reacted unconsciously because the only person I should worry about is myself. But, lying would have also correlated with my own self-interest. Normative egoism would say that I should tell the truth because it is the right thing to do: it does not matter that I did tell the truth, but I could have told a lie and still gotten away unscathed. I believe I acted more in accordance with ethical egoism because I reacted in a morally right way, but still prioritized myself. The rational solution for the situation would most likely correspond with the right thing to do, but that is not always the case because one can act irrationally, according to others, but behave in their own self-interest. Though, telling the truth in this situation would be both the rational and ethical solution. Ultimately, I was impulsive in my confession as I was in kicking a hole in the wall. I did take into account the consequences of either telling the truth or lying, but in the end I blurted the truth