Self-Interest

by Edited by Ellen Frankel Paul , Fred D. Miller, Jr , Jeffrey Paul

• ISBN13: 9780521598927
• ISBN10: 0521598923
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-05-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

'[T]he good man should be a lover of self.' Aristotle wrote. 'For he will both himself profit by doing noble acts, and will benefit his fellows ... '. Yet in much of contemporary moral philosophy, concern for one's own interests is considered a non-moral issue, while concern for the interests of others is paradigmatically moral. Indeed, a central issue in ethical theory involves the proper balance to be struck between prudence and morality, between the pursuit of one's own good and the pursuit of the good of others. When deliberating over what action to take, should one weigh one's own interests more heavily than those of others? Or is it possible to accommodate both self-interest and regard for others, to show that we have self-regarding reasons for helping others? The twelve essays in this volume - written from a range of perspectives - address these questions and examine related issues.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii	(9)
Acknowledgments	xvi	(1)
Contributors	xvii
KELLY ROGERS
Beyond Self and Other	1	(20)
JEAN HAMPTON
The Wisdom of the Egoist: The Moral and Political Implications of Valuing the Self	21	(31)
THOMAS E. HILL, JR.
Reasonable Self-Interest	52	(34)
DAVID COPP
The Ring of Gyges: Overridingness and the Unity of Reason	86	(21)
DAVID SCHMIDTZ
Self-Interest: What's in It for Me?	107	(15)
DAVID O. BRINK
Self-Love and Altruism	122	(36)
STEPHEN DARWALL
Self-Interest and Self-Concern	158	(21)
JENNIFER ROBACK MORSE
Who Is Rational Economic Man?	179	(28)
SUSAN WOLF
Happiness and Meaning: Two Aspects of the Good Life	207	(19)
NEERA K. BADHWAR
Self-Interest and Virtue	226	(38)
MICHAEL SLOTE
The Virtue in Self-Interest	264	(22)
THOMAS HURKA
Self-Interest, Altruism, and Virtue	286	(23)
Index	309