Purchase Solution

Ethical Subjectivism and Psychological Egoism

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

What are the main ideas supporting Ethical Subjectivism and Psychological Egoism? What distinguishes these two theories? Formulate at least one argument for, and one against each of the theories. Cite sources!

Purchase this Solution
Solution Summary

The solution is a 722-word discussion that discusses ethical subjectivism and psychological egoism. Each of these theories are defined and explained and then differentiated from each other. Support for and argument against each theory is also included. References are listed for expansion. A word version is attached for easy download and digital use.

Solution Preview

Dear Student,
Hello and thank you for using Brainmass. The solution below should get you started. If you have any questions, you can use the listed references for further research. Good luck with your studies.

Sincerely,
OTA 105878/Xenia Jones
--------------------------------------
Ethical Subjectivism

Ethical Subjectivism is a meta-ethical view, meaning it seeks to understand the value & elements composing a particular view or position. It proposes that ethical statements refer to propositions and some of these are true and these propositions are attitudes or people expressing them instead of them being 'truths'. These makes ethical positions relative to the attitude & view of a person where truth is viewed in context of the person expressing them. Jacobs (2010), expresses this as such - "...ethical subjectivism begins with personal experiences of the world and ends as human beings generalize these experiences to the world so that a person or group can render definitive judgements about the world. It happens with little things, for example, a person's insistence that pouring cream into a coffee mug before pouring the coffee into it keeps the coffee warmer. Chemists say this is absurd." Essentially then, what this position ...

Solution provided by:
Xenia Rochelle Jones, MA, PhD (IP)
Education
  • MPhil/PhD (IP), Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
  • MA, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
  • Certificate, Geva Ulpan (via Universita Tel Aviv)
  • BA, University of the Philippines
Recent Feedback
  • "Thank you!:)"
  • "Excellent, thank you!:)"
  • "Thank you for your timely help. I have submitted another posting (656038) and assigned it directly to you. Please help."
  • "Thank you so much for your timely help. Much appreciated."
  • "Thanks so much for your support."
Purchase this Solution
Free BrainMass Quizzes
Where do humans come from?

This quiz helps identify human origins.

View More Free Quizzes
Related BrainMass Solutions

  • Psychological Egoism in Business

    599660 Psychological Egoism in Business Find a contemporary article showing how the theory of psychological egoism in a corporation resulted in an ethical dilemma.

  • Ethical Relativism and Ethical Egoism

    46122 Compare and contrast the two moral philosophies, Ethical Relativism and Ethical Egoism Compare and contrast the two moral philosophies, Ethical Relativism and Ethical Egoism.

  • Explaining Philosophy Concepts

    What are the differences between ethical egoism and Psychological egoism ? (Psychological Egoism is concerned with how people do behave. Ethical Egoism is a theory about how we ought to behave... what are some other differences?)

  • Ethical Egoism

    (Robert Shaver, 2017) Dr Charles Kay of Wofford College adds to the favorable reasons in in his description of psychological, and minimalist egoism: Psychological egoism is the claim that humans by nature are motivated only by self-interest .

  • Egoism and Altruism Behaviours

    It is a way for parents to satisfy a self interest and live a dream that perhaps they never had the opportunity to as a child. Therefore, it is a selfish act. References: LaFave, Sandra. Psychological egoism and ethical egoism.

  • Discussing Traditional and Modern Ethics

    This solution discusses the traditional fields of ethics, deontological and teleological ethics, and compares and contrasts these with modern ethics, which encompasses cultural relativism and ethical egoism.

  • Need for Ethics in Business

    Also the Insight on ethics in the context of relativism, psychological egoism, utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. And expound on the ideas of character ethic, female ethic, human rights, and ethical action.

  • Natural Ethical Theories

    This is known as psychological egoism. Ethical egoism takes this one step further, and says that a person should do what is best for him or her. This position became popular in the mid to late 20th century through the writings of Ayn Rand.

  • Emotivism Differ from Simple Ethical Subjectivism

    /philosophy_article_111.html A comparison and contrast of emotivism and simple ethical subjectivism.

View More Related Solutions