Tery Hardwicke

Virtue and Self-interest: a Compelling Answer to the Question Why Be Moral?" " Tery Hardwicke

Why be moral? One possible, and compelling answer is that to act morally is in an agent's self-interest. Such an answer can be either elevationist where self-interest is elevated to coincide with living the good life, or reductionist where morality is defined as acting in an agent's self-interest. Elevationist moral theories appear flawed. If you are in possession of information that, if divulged, will bring about the deaths of others then it may be virtuous to stay silent. However, if staying silent results in you being slowly tortured to death in an effort to extract the information then it seems bizarre to suggest that in doing so you are flourishing, happy, or acting out of self-interest. Reductionist moral theories, acting for the 'good of self' rather than the 'good of others', are widely considered to be the antithesis of morality. Philosophers tend to attack such positions claiming that the doctrine of egoism is unworkable and fails to meet the basic requirements of a moral theory. I tread the middle road, claiming that Flourishing Egoism is, strictly speaking, neither elevationist nor reductionist and provides an agent with compelling reason to act morally.