Rule egoism is the doctrine under which an individual evaluates the optimal set of rules according to whether conformity to those rules bring the most benefit to himself. An action, therefore, is right if it promotes his welfare at least as well as any alternative rule available to him. It is associated with foundational egoism, which maintains that normative factors must be grounded in consideration of the agent's well-being - something that rule egoism does but in a way that avoids factoral egoism.
Development
Although it is claimed that Thomas Hobbes is a rule-egoist, the term "rule egoism" was first coined by Richard Brandt in his work "Rationality, Egoism, and Morality, where it was briefly mentioned.
See also
- Enlightened self-interest
- Ethical egoism
- Psychological egoism
- Rational egoism
- Rule utilitarianism
- Virtue ethics
References
- Kagan, Shelly. 1998. Normative Ethics. Westview Press. p. 199
- Copp, David (2006). The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 384. ISBN 9780195147797.
- Kagan, Shelly (2018-02-12). Normative Ethics. Routledge. ISBN 9780429978289.
- Osterberg, Jan (2012). Self and Others: A Study of Ethical Egoism. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 230. ISBN 9789401077965.
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