Dr. Zakir Patel, Professor, Naran Lala College of Commerce and Management, Navsari
Unit-3
THEORY OF ETHICS & ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
(15% weightage)
Topics
Theory of egoism and subjectivism
Cultural relativism
Approaches to environmental issues
Opposition to green environment
ROI of sustainable environmental responsibility
THEORY OF ETHICAL EGOISM
Meaning:
Ethical egoism theory was introduced by the philosopher Henry Sidgwick in his book ‘The
methods of Ethics’ in 1874.
Ethical egoism is the view that people must pursue their own self-interest.
The theory believes that it is not the duty of any person to promote somebody else’s interests.
Theory of ethical egoism is a normative or prescriptive theory. This means that it is concerned
with how people must behave. It does not study how people actually behave but it is concerned
with how people must behave.
Ethical egoism is different from psychological egoism. Psychological egoism is descriptive theory.
It states that all our actions are always self-interested. It talks about the basic human nature.
Ethical egoism says that each person’s self-interest is above the interests of all others. When a
moral decision is to be made, the person should only consider how the results will benefit him.
Example - If you would benefit more from keeping Rs.10,000 as compared to donating it to
charity, then it is morally correct to keep that money for yourself.
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF EGOISM
1. Adam Smith’s Economics of General Good
Everyone pursuing his or her own self-interest is the best way to promote the general good. It means that
if everybody pursue their own self-interest then it is best in the interest of everybody. This argument was
made famous by Adam Smith, father of modern economics. According to him, if every person works for
their own self-interest, then everyone will be motivated to work hard to benefit themselves. This will
increase the productivity and hence it will be advantageous to the whole economy.
2. Ayn Rand's Ethical Objectivism
There is another argument put forward by Any Rand, the author of great novels like ‘The Fountainhead’.
Any Rand complaints that altruism is not good. Altruism means putting the interests of others before your
own interest. She complaints that altruism is normally praised and encouraged and sometimes it is
forcefully implemented. For example taxes – We pay taxes to support the needy in the country. According
to Any Rand, no one has any right to expect or demand any sacrifice from me for the sake of others.
3. Moral duties are based on egoism
All our religious texts and scriptures are full with moral duties of human beings. For example, they teach
1
us that we must always speak truth or we must keep our promises to others etc. They teach us that we
Page
must not think of what others do. We must think of only what is in our interest.
, Dr. Zakir Patel, Professor, Naran Lala College of Commerce and Management, Navsari
4. Unfamiliar
We are familiar with our needs and wants. We are not familiar about other people’s needs and wants.
Hence, we must not pursue the interest of others. We must only pursue to fulfil our needs and wants.
Hence, we must be self-interested.
5. Degrade others
When we pursue other’s interest, then it is possible that we may degrade the respect of other people.
Example – when we give charity to someone, then we are actually degrading the respect of that person
by making him believe that he/she is dependent on us. The person who gets charity comes under
obligation. He/She is obliged to listen to us because they have taken charity from us.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST EGOISM
There is an objection to Adam Smith’s argument. This argument states that self-interest must be
pursued for ‘general good’ of all. This is not valid. The argument of Adam Smith is to pursue self-
interest only if it is for the general good / good for all.
Self-interest does not always produce good results. Let us understand this with the help of an
example below;
Example - Prisoner's Dilemma
Consider the prisoner’s dilemma, for example. This is a hypothetical situation described in Game
theory.
You and your partner (call him X) are being held in prison/jail. You are both asked to
confess. The terms of the deal you are offered are as follows:
If you confess and X does not confess then you get six months and he gets 10 years of jail.
If X confesses and you don’t confess then he gets six months and you get 10 years jail.
If you both confess, you both get five years.
If neither of you confesses, you both get two years.
Regardless of what X does, the best thing for you to do is confess. Because if he does not
confess, you’ll get less punishment; and if he does confess, you’ll at least avoid getting
extra prison time. But the same reasoning holds for X too.
According to ethical egoism, you should both pursue your rational self-interest. But then the
result will not be the best. You both get five years, whereas if both of you had not seen your self-
interests then both of you would get two years jail each.
The point is simple. It is not always in your best interest to pursue your own self-interest without
concern for others.
Many times people find a balance between self-interest and altruism. For example, one student
may help her roommate with her homework. This is altruism. But that student also has an
interest in enjoying good relations with her roommates. This is self-interest. She may not help
everyone in all circumstances, but she will help if the sacrifice involved is not too great. Most
people behave like this, trying to have a balance between egoism and altruism.
Ethical egoism has no solutions to offer when a problem arises because of conflicts of interest.
For example, a company wants to empty waste into a river; the people living near the river will
object. Ethical egoism advises that both parties actively pursue what they want. Now in this case
any one party will be able to perform their self-interest. Both parties cannot. Either waste will be
deposited into the river or it will not.
**************************************************************************************
2
Page
Unit-3
THEORY OF ETHICS & ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
(15% weightage)
Topics
Theory of egoism and subjectivism
Cultural relativism
Approaches to environmental issues
Opposition to green environment
ROI of sustainable environmental responsibility
THEORY OF ETHICAL EGOISM
Meaning:
Ethical egoism theory was introduced by the philosopher Henry Sidgwick in his book ‘The
methods of Ethics’ in 1874.
Ethical egoism is the view that people must pursue their own self-interest.
The theory believes that it is not the duty of any person to promote somebody else’s interests.
Theory of ethical egoism is a normative or prescriptive theory. This means that it is concerned
with how people must behave. It does not study how people actually behave but it is concerned
with how people must behave.
Ethical egoism is different from psychological egoism. Psychological egoism is descriptive theory.
It states that all our actions are always self-interested. It talks about the basic human nature.
Ethical egoism says that each person’s self-interest is above the interests of all others. When a
moral decision is to be made, the person should only consider how the results will benefit him.
Example - If you would benefit more from keeping Rs.10,000 as compared to donating it to
charity, then it is morally correct to keep that money for yourself.
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF EGOISM
1. Adam Smith’s Economics of General Good
Everyone pursuing his or her own self-interest is the best way to promote the general good. It means that
if everybody pursue their own self-interest then it is best in the interest of everybody. This argument was
made famous by Adam Smith, father of modern economics. According to him, if every person works for
their own self-interest, then everyone will be motivated to work hard to benefit themselves. This will
increase the productivity and hence it will be advantageous to the whole economy.
2. Ayn Rand's Ethical Objectivism
There is another argument put forward by Any Rand, the author of great novels like ‘The Fountainhead’.
Any Rand complaints that altruism is not good. Altruism means putting the interests of others before your
own interest. She complaints that altruism is normally praised and encouraged and sometimes it is
forcefully implemented. For example taxes – We pay taxes to support the needy in the country. According
to Any Rand, no one has any right to expect or demand any sacrifice from me for the sake of others.
3. Moral duties are based on egoism
All our religious texts and scriptures are full with moral duties of human beings. For example, they teach
1
us that we must always speak truth or we must keep our promises to others etc. They teach us that we
Page
must not think of what others do. We must think of only what is in our interest.
, Dr. Zakir Patel, Professor, Naran Lala College of Commerce and Management, Navsari
4. Unfamiliar
We are familiar with our needs and wants. We are not familiar about other people’s needs and wants.
Hence, we must not pursue the interest of others. We must only pursue to fulfil our needs and wants.
Hence, we must be self-interested.
5. Degrade others
When we pursue other’s interest, then it is possible that we may degrade the respect of other people.
Example – when we give charity to someone, then we are actually degrading the respect of that person
by making him believe that he/she is dependent on us. The person who gets charity comes under
obligation. He/She is obliged to listen to us because they have taken charity from us.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST EGOISM
There is an objection to Adam Smith’s argument. This argument states that self-interest must be
pursued for ‘general good’ of all. This is not valid. The argument of Adam Smith is to pursue self-
interest only if it is for the general good / good for all.
Self-interest does not always produce good results. Let us understand this with the help of an
example below;
Example - Prisoner's Dilemma
Consider the prisoner’s dilemma, for example. This is a hypothetical situation described in Game
theory.
You and your partner (call him X) are being held in prison/jail. You are both asked to
confess. The terms of the deal you are offered are as follows:
If you confess and X does not confess then you get six months and he gets 10 years of jail.
If X confesses and you don’t confess then he gets six months and you get 10 years jail.
If you both confess, you both get five years.
If neither of you confesses, you both get two years.
Regardless of what X does, the best thing for you to do is confess. Because if he does not
confess, you’ll get less punishment; and if he does confess, you’ll at least avoid getting
extra prison time. But the same reasoning holds for X too.
According to ethical egoism, you should both pursue your rational self-interest. But then the
result will not be the best. You both get five years, whereas if both of you had not seen your self-
interests then both of you would get two years jail each.
The point is simple. It is not always in your best interest to pursue your own self-interest without
concern for others.
Many times people find a balance between self-interest and altruism. For example, one student
may help her roommate with her homework. This is altruism. But that student also has an
interest in enjoying good relations with her roommates. This is self-interest. She may not help
everyone in all circumstances, but she will help if the sacrifice involved is not too great. Most
people behave like this, trying to have a balance between egoism and altruism.
Ethical egoism has no solutions to offer when a problem arises because of conflicts of interest.
For example, a company wants to empty waste into a river; the people living near the river will
object. Ethical egoism advises that both parties actively pursue what they want. Now in this case
any one party will be able to perform their self-interest. Both parties cannot. Either waste will be
deposited into the river or it will not.
**************************************************************************************
2
Page
