Ethical egoism defines a concept that tries to explain that humans must pursue what deems important to them. This relates to putting aside other individuals’ interests and first going for the personal well-being. First, being individually happy makes it possible to deliver the same attitude to others. The ethical egoism considered in this case roots from the ethical reasoning and understanding of the effects or consequential-ism. In this regard, concentration accrued as for the consequence of the action that a certain human being takes. According to Donaldson, the researcher defines the theory as an action that construes right actions (Donaldson, p.3). The consequences, when weighted among other alternatives, proves to have minimal negative effects on the performer, or maximizes the person’s good. It should not be mistaken between selfishness and egoism. For instance, a teacher might take long periods contemplating about his or her personal issues other than attending the students. In this scenario, the teacher is being concerned about personal interests, but it does not translate to selfishness. Many people tend to relate ethical egoism with being selfish; however, the two are not similar. For ethical egoism, the character must first benefit for the community to reap from the person. For instance, a teacher would not provide meaningful content to the students if no time is scheduled to enrich the individuals. For a case for ethical egoism, characters must first put their well-being first; it is after that the society (students or learners) can benefit from the person. What might be viewed as selfishness might is actually an ethical view of an individual’s interests.
Ethical egoism in a teacher’s scenario
Teachers act as the sole source of resources to the student in the education realm when the concept of egoism is raised; the two parties ought to understand the goals of each other. For instance, students must gain knowledge through the tutors. On the hand, the tutors have to dedicate time and resources to fetch quality material that will benefit the learners. Moreover, when ethical egoism is practiced in the education sector, it would be detrimental to their lives concerning their social well-being. The teacher must act as an egoist in order to self-seek and put and effort towards the flourishing of the students. This is what tends to control the state of a teacher. First, the inclusion of the egoistic teacher acts as a source of productive counter-image to the altruistic ideal in the education panel.
The teacher is destined to be rational and more importantly understand his or her personal interests in order to evaluate the expertise to use not to harm the interest of the learners. In an ethical egoism scenario, the teacher (provider) must act in a manner that displays attention to the well-being of the students. Nevertheless, the act does not make a teacher not egoistic. As explained earlier, the teacher acts as the sole provider of services in the sector (which explains the reason behind putting well-being first) and the student are the consumers. Therefore, what is provided to them must be of benefit since according to ethical egoism, the teacher is obliged to act in a manner that does not impact harm on others as well as the actor (tutor). The approach devotes towards the establishment of a set of comprehensive guidelines that see to it that each individual takes care of their lives. In the education sector, the teacher must develop ways to ensure that the lives of the students are at abreast.
Works Cited
MacKinnon, Barbara, and Andrew Fiala. Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. , 2015. Print.
Rand, Ayn, and Nathaniel Branden. The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism. , 1964. Print.
