1. Morality and Self- Interest Vice and Virtue in Everyday Life Chapter 3

2. The Ring of Gyges, Plato ► Humans do what is just because they lack the power to do wrong. ► The story of the Ring of Gyges illustrates this point. ► Who is happier, the just man with the bad reputation, or the unjust man with the good reputation?

3. Of the State of Men without Civil Society, Hobbes ► Egoism and the state of nature ► Why do we form a society? ► On the benefits of forming a society, rather than remaining in the state of nature

4. Of Self-Love, Hume ► Hume rejects both ethical and psychological egoism. ► Our love of our fellow human beings is not mere self-love. ► We should not reduce love, friendship, and compassion to self-love.

5. Hume ► Observation and experience tell us that there are unselfish dispostions and affections. ► Human nature, in conclusion, is not egoistic.

6. The Unselfishness Trap, Browne ► The Unselfishness Trap=the belief that I should put other people’s happiness before my own. ► If we live for others, the world will not be better. ► We shouldn’t do things to appear to be unselfish.

7. Browne ► Not all people are made happy by making others happy. ► Everyone is ultimately selfish, because we all do what we think will make us feel good.

8. Egoism and Moral Skepticism, Rachels ► Psychological egoism and ethical egoism ► Rachels discusses 2 general arguments for psychological egoism, and why they are flawed. ► Selfishness is not the same as self- interest.

9. Rachels ► A false dichotomy exists between actions being done from self-interest or altruistic motives. ► Concern for one’s own welfare is compatible with concern for the welfare of others.

10. Rachels ► Rachels also argues against ethical egoism, in part because sympathy is fundamental to human nature.

11. The Virtue of Selfishness, Rand ► Selfishness has wrongly been considered to be a vice. ► On altruism, who the beneficiary of an action is determines the morality of that action.

12. Rand ► Altruism permits no concept of justice, so we must redeem the concept of selfishness.

13. Egoism, Self-Interest, and Altruism, Pojman ► Pojman restates Rand’s argument for ethical egoism. ► Rand’s argument commits the fallacy of a false dilemma.

14. Pojman ► Happiness comes when we avoid the extremes of ethical egoism and the morality of self-effacement.

15. Why Not Be a Bad Person? McGinn ► The good life of virtue is self- justifying. ► McGinn’s shortlist of virtues, i.e. the BIG FOUR: kindness, honesty, justice, and independence

16. McGinn ► The virtuous person is bold and attractive, the vicious person cowardly and unattractive. ► McGinn finally offers a list of moral maxims.

17. Why Act Morally? Singer ► Human nature and human happiness ► Can psychopaths be truly happy? ► Does life have any meaning? ► The psychopath’s life focuses inwardly and on short-term pleasures.

18. Singer ► The normal person’s life is better because she lives for outward and far- reaching purposes. ► Ethics takes on the point of view of the universe.