Egoism
“A normative, agent-focused ethic based upon self-interest as opposed to altruism”
Normative = standards of systems of how you ought to act
Agent-focused = what you should BE rather than DO
Altruism = selfless acts not based on your own interest.
There are two variants of egoism:
Descriptive/Psychological egoism which is the idea that egoism is factual as everyone’s actions are motivated by their own interests and desires.
Normative/Ethical egoism which is the idea that everyone should be motivated by their own interests and desires, regardless of that actually being the case or not.
Stirner’s key ideas:
The study of morality is meaningless because the point of life isn’t to understand systems of morality and ways of thinking that have been created by other people but it is to fight for our own unique desires and morals.
Stirner believes that the idea that a moral life is one dedicated to a greater cause keeps us in chains.
All system oppose our own self-assertion - No system (state, school, parent) cares about our own advancement and merely want us to support their own societies, selfish interests and ideals which they have created and given themselves. Therefore we simply must value our own uniqueness and fight for it.Other are simply objects we can utilise to establish ourselves in the world.
Does he approve of violent attitudes against others?
Stirner acknowledges the repression of self-expression seen in history which he argues must be fought against which doing so may involve violence, crime and rebellion therefore he approves of violence in these cases.
Society is an attempt to control the individual - The true nature of any society - religious or secular - is to control its members. A way to understand how a secular society’s state creates what can be seen as a religious dogma - They believe in an ideal ‘Man’ rather than a God which is created by the state, and if we do not conform to whatever that ‘Man’ is then we are punished and shamed.
Stirner argues that even atheists should be considered religious because they support systems of governance and morality which demand the worship of a certain idea of ‘Man’.
Eigenheit (ownness) = To be a master of one's self in order to find one's individual version of freedom.
The insurrection = An uprising against an authority or government, not as a political or social act against the established but as an individual discontent and wish to work one's self out of the established.
Criticisms:
Marx and Engels:
Unrealistic/inaccurate - Stirner claimed that egoists on their own, or in a ‘union of egoists’ could stand up to the rich and demand better prices BUT Marx and Engels argued this is untrue as many workers have protested against the rich through strikes and have failed as the rich resist.
Derived from a Bourgeois perspective - Will never lead the labouring masses to a better life. Marx and Engels argue that what is most real is not the individual but society and the complex power-relations of social life.
Traps:
Don’t confuse psychological egoism and philosophical egoism.
Don’t assume Stirner wants a bloodthirsty, abusive world. - remember - He argues that the world is already a violent place + He views the quest for unlimited money, fame or hedonism as controlling habits which prevent one from realising their unique desires therefore being an ethical egoist requires self-mastery + We should still work together in temporary, non-obligatory ‘unions of egoists’
Psychological egoism:
Evidence:
“No man gives but with intention of good to himself; because gift is voluntary; and of all voluntary acts the object to every man in his own pleasure” - Thomas Hobbes (English political philosopher)
“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest” - Adam Smith (Scottish economist and philosopher)
Argument from Parsimony - Psychological egoism is a simpler explanation for human motivation.
Argument from introspection - reflecting on one’s own motivations can reveal that self-interest is the underlying driver of all actions.
David Hume’s opposition to Psychological Egoism:
1) Moral sentiments such as love, friendship, compassion and gratitude contradict egoism as they cause as to act altruistically and show concern for others therefore likely motivate us to help others. - not selfish.
2) Human motivation can't be simplified to a single cause, as ethical egoism does, as it is much more complex.
3) Humans and animals share similar instincts therefore how can one argue that humans cannot act benevolently when animals can?
4) Just because the fortune of another doesn't benefit our own self-interest does not mean that benevolent acts are meaningless.
5) We have alternative motivations which take importance over self-interest which can be seen in many people's predisposition towards vanity, fame, or vengeance.
Enslavement
Even though one may SEEM to have freely chosen to do certain things in their own self-interest, they are a slave to other external factors.
Ayn Rand’s Objectivism:
Ayn Rand opposes altruism for being destructive to the self and our only life. She argues that we should not need to sacrifice ourselves and our own well-being for the sake of others as this devalues us. A moral act is motivated by our self-interest and our self-interest alone.
Ayn Rand only challenges societal structures rather than rejecting the whole of society and state as stirner did.
Key Definitions:
Eigenheit = the uniqueness and singularity of an individual
“I will to do that serves my own true unique nature and so I will give, or not, according to this” - STIRNER
Spooks = fixed ideas that enslave and oppress the individual (e.g. God, morality, the state) and are merely illusions that are imposed upon us.
Union of egoists = a group of voluntary individuals that have no obligations to the group and merely are apart of it for the sake of promoting their own self-interests through interactions with others. They are horizontally organised. - Stirner is an anarchist who is against the involuntary organisations in society.
“The union of egoists would respect the uniqueness of each member, support them in their unique pursuit of their individual goals whilst still having no shared final ends. It is a true cooperation of egos.” - STIRNER
The insurrection = Internalised revolution whereby we can get rid of spooks to assert our own ego.
Stirner’s opposition to christianity -
“You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” - Romans
“Now you are the body of christ, and each one of you is a part of it” - Romans