Selfishness, whatever its form, is about the self. Ethical egoism asserts that acting in one's own self-interest is moral because, according to author and philosopher Ayn Rand, life is so highly valued that it should take precedence over everything else. Psychological egoism, on the other hand, asserts that it is instinctive to act in one's own interest. The difference between the two is that while ethical egoism involves a choice, deciding to act in one's own self-interest, psychological egoism states that human beings act in their own self-interest out of instinct, without any choice. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayOne of the fallacies of psychological egoism arises from a person's inability to decide for themselves what is or is not in their own best interest. This statement means that it is impossible for us to act against our personal interests. If this point were true, there would be no martyrs, doctors, policemen, firefighters, etc. It would be impossible for these people to do these jobs or fulfill these roles because each requires ignoring to some extent the instinctive need for self-preservation. A police officer would never pursue a criminal because he would fear for his life. A firefighter would never approach a fire for fear of getting burned. Doctors face the threat of viruses and diseases and martyrs abandon the very lives they should be protecting, their own. Entire sections of culture could not exist if psychological egoism were actually true. Ethical egoism is the idea that it is always reasonable and moral to promote one's highest good. There are two versions of ethical egoism, strong and weak. The strong version asserts that one should always seek one's highest good, and that it is, in fact, irrational not to do so. The weak version asserts that it is always reasonable to simply aim for one's own good, that it is not entirely irrational to do otherwise; in other words, there will be cases in which it is reasonable to act contrary to one's greater good. Ethical egoism and psychological egoism are similar in doctrine, but with one significant difference: choice. As mentioned previously, psychological egoism does not consider choice as a factor in the "decision-making" process: it maintains that the pursuit of one's highest good is purely instinctive. In contrast, ethical selfishness concerns what should be pursued: everyone should pursue their highest good but has the choice not to do so. For example, it is in our best interest to escape from a burning building, but that is not always how this scenario plays out. In the example of a burning building, psychological selfishness only demands that one leave the building, and leave as quickly as possible, but what if that person had loved ones in the building ? At this point, in almost all cases, the individual in question is not going to flee the building without at least trying to save their loved ones, putting themselves in even greater danger, to the point of possibly sacrificing their own life for save the aforementioned loved ones. In comparison, ethical egoism not only allows choice, but in its weak version it also accommodates altruism. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Although selfishness is often considered synonymous with selfishness, the truth is that selfishness is more like self-interest than selfishness. Selfishness consists of wanting something simply for the pleasure of having it without.