What is ethical egoism?

What are the differences between the views of Ayn Rand and Nietzsche?


- Ethical egoism: The view that we act morally when we pursue our own self-interest, that the highest moral value for all humans is to pursue their own happiness.
- According to Nietzsche, people who are weak fear and envy the strong individualists and resent their independence, their passion, their creative visions. Parasitic "second-handers" constrain the strong individualists by creating a perverse system of morality that villainizes the true individual and celebrates the weak altruist devoted to self-sacrifice. The pursuit of self-interest is branded as "selfishness," whereas the unnatural denial of self-interest is considered to be a saintly virtue.
- According to Rand, t is our moral duty to pursue our own rational self-interest. The "virtue" of altruism that traditional ethical theories and religions recommend is actually a vice, because it encourages people not to pursue their own self-interest as their top priority. According to Rand, the self-sacrifice associated with altruism discourages us from fulfilling our greatest potential. She claimed that pursuing your self-interest means creating a value system that is not destructive to yourself, nor is it destructive to others.

Philosophy & Belief

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Some scholars have suggested that John the Baptist was, or had been, a member of the Essenes

Indicate whether the statement is true or false

Philosophy & Belief

What is Warren's conclusion about the moral significance of birth?

a. The infant can be protected without negating the basic rights of women. b. It marks the end of pregnancy and the beginning of the infant's existence. c. The infant becomes a socially responsive member of a human community. d. All of these choices

Philosophy & Belief

INSTRUCTIONS: Select the answer that best characterizes each argument. Madam Voodoo, the famous psychic, says she has communicated with departed souls. Therefore, it follows there is life after death

A) Red herring. B) Straw man. C) Argument against the person, abusive. D) Appeal to unqualified authority. E) No fallacy.

Philosophy & Belief

Identify any formal fallacies or fallacies of language in the following passage.If Shelley has read the Republic, then she's bound to know who Thrasymachus is. And, since she clearly does know who Thrasymachus is, we can conclude that she must have read the Republic.

What will be an ideal response?

Philosophy & Belief