Business Ethics Ethical Egoist- Egoism Can Be

Business Ethics

Ethical Egoist- Egoism can be either descriptive or normative. Descriptive egoism holds that for each individual, there is only one ultimate aim -- survival and the betterment of the sole individual based on their own hierarchical principles. Normative egoism has the individual making claims about what should be done to do the "right" thing, rather than what one does. As well, ethical egoism insists that for an action to be morally right that it must maximize one's own self-interest; rational egoism says that the action is rational if it does the same. This is in contrast to altruism, which says morally we have the obligation to help and serve others; egoism elevates the self (the individual) above others in finding morality (Singer, 1990).

Essentially, the argument follows that each of us is most familiar with our own wants and needs. We do not know the wants and needs of others in the same way, nor are we equipped to always follow in others' best interests. It is then more efficient and logical to pursue our own needs and look out for ourselves so that others do not have to. This view also assumes that the individual is more able to provide for their own needs and also has that responsibility. Therefore, because the onus is on the self, society can be free to work for the betterment of larger projects that benefit everyone as opposed to taking care of individuals (Feinberg, 2008, pp. 520-3).

An example might be a small rural town in the American Midwest, called Calamity. The closest hospital is 150 miles away through roads that are sometimes treacherous during winter months. The town that serves the population does not have the tax base to have anything but travelling medical care once per month. Doctor Jones, just out of Medical School and full of enthusiasm, wants to make a difference in the lives of people. He agrees to set up a General Practice in Calamity and convinces the town to rent a space for him on Main Street for $1/year with a 5-year option. He will be responsible for his equipment, but the town will share 50% of his build out expenses as long as he agrees to work in the town for at least 3 years. Dr. Jones not only sees the opportunity to help people because of his expertise, he has a captive audience for 80% of the town's needs, and then referrals to the urban area for the other 20%. He has captured the market and is able to make money because of his unique abilities and negotiations with the town council; but he also believes he knows what is best for the town, and they, in turn, benefit as well.

Question 3 -- Runaway Train Scenario- One of the preeminent philosophers of the Enlightenment, Rousseau, contradicted many other philosophers of the time in that he saw the same brutish and ugly conditions in urban life, competition, and greed; but, found that instead of seeing humanity in need of control, there was a natural state of being, and this state or urbanity was not that state. Rousseau saw optimism and the theory of the social contract of the individual with the state- bringing more and more positive actualization to everyday life, and thus improving society as a whole (Gay, 1996).

If we have a scenario in which a runaway train is headed down a track, and there are a group of people somehow stuck on the track, and we have the power to flip a switch to move the train to another track where there is a single person on the track, do we consider the needs of the many over the needs of the few (or the one). We first review utilitarianism and find that it holds that the most ethical thing one can do is any action that will maximize the happiness within an organization or society. Actions have quantitative outcomes and the ethical choices that lead to the "greatest good for the greatest number" are the appropriate decisions, even if that means subsuming the rights of certain individuals. It is considered to be a consequential outlook in the sense that while outcomes cannot be predicted the judgment of an action is based on the outcome -- or, "the ends justify the means." Deontology is similar, arguing that there are norms and truths that are universal for all humans; actions then have a predisposition to right or wrong, moral or immoral. Kant believed that humans should act, at all times, as if their individual actions would have consequences for all of society. Morality, then, is based on rational thought and is the direction most humans innately want. Roughly, deontology is "the means justify the ends" (Sisler, 2001).