Writing assignment:  Ethical Egoism

In 500 words or more (no less), explain the difference between psychological egoism and enlightened ethical egoism. You may use examples, but you will still need to include a full scholarly definition of each, with commentary. You may use any scholarly source other than a dictionary, to include online video lectures. You may use Wikipedia as a starting point, but be aware that Wikipedia is not a scholarly source and therefore can never be quoted in your paper. You will need to include in-text citations in your essay (last name, date, pg#) along with an APA formatted References page. You can find tools and examples of APA citation formats at the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

Writing assignment:  Ethical Egoism Answer

Difference between Psychological Egoism and Ethical Egoism

         Egoism is the theory that one’s own self is, or should be, the motivating force and aim of one’s action, according to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. There are two types of egoism: descriptive and normative. The descriptive (or positive) variant regards egoism as a true account of human affairs. The word “egoism” comes from the Latin word “ego,” which means “I” in English. Egoism is not to be confused with egotism, which refers to a psychological overestimation of one’s own importance or activities.