Abstract

Ethical egoism is roughly the view that each person ought to maximize his own interests. The main point of this doctrine is that the basic principles of human conduct must always be referred to some benefit for the agent. ;So stated, ethical egoism seems to be very simple. Nevertheless, it is not clear what it means or implies. First, what does it mean to say that an action is done out of self-interest? What kinds of things are in one's self-interest? Many philosophers who advocate ethical egoism want to qualify self-interest as "enlightened self-interest" or "self-interest in the long run." If so, how should we understand it? Secondly, critics are fond of regarding the ego or the self as a whimsical entity whose interests are achieved by merely fulfilling the desires, passions and so on. On the other hand, defenders of ethical egoism want to argue that such conception of the self is too narrow. The self could be conceived in a more comprehensive way. If so, how should we understand the self whose interest is the source of his moral obligation? ;In responding to the above questions, various answers have been proposed, and in accordance with these answers there are many formulations of ethical egoism. The purpose of this dissertation is thus two-fold: To state and evaluate the answers of these questions. In so doing the intention is to make clear where the ethical egoist would stand with regard to these questions. To analyze in detail the various formulations of ethical egoism, and to consider the criticisms against them. Some criticisms are meant to apply to ethical egoism in general; others are specific with some of its particular versions. The goal here is to search for a plausible form of ethical egoism and to show that it will overcome the difficulties attributed to it.