Paper Abstract
This is a 5 page paper discussing Sidgwick’s “The Methods of Ethics” as he examines the morality behind the arguments of the Utilitarianism and the Egoist philosophies. In Henry Sidgwick’s “The Methods of Ethics”, he examines the morality behind the arguments of the Utilitarianism and the Egoist philosophies. In doing so, Sidgwick finds that the morality of common sense is outlined by its adherence to certain principles of consensus in a society and which seem to be consistent throughout history and societies. The morality of common sense is consistent with that of utilitarianism in that moral good is measured by the greatest good for the greatest number. Sidgwick finds however that the utilitarianism argument fails against that of the egoist who finds that an action which brings each man’s happiness is the basis for man’s morality. In order to “prove” his argument, the utilitarian imposes sanctions on the egoist which in a sense state that there are pleasures and pains which will be expected if an egoist acts only in his own self interests. These sanctions however, do not offer “proof” for the egoist as for him, his own happiness is by definition only good, not only for him but also from a universal perspective. Bibliography lists 1 source.
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