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Transcending egoism through utilitarianism
Vaškovic, Petr ; Jirsa, Jakub (advisor) ; Hill, James (referee)
This bachelor's thesis transcending egoism through utilitarianism deals with the problem of egoism in connection to moral acts, especially in connection to the motivation of moral action. Main focus of the thesis is on the problem of egoism, which seems to be one of the main motivating powers, usually negative, that is preventing individual from following his moral judgment. Transcending the negative influence of egoism is possible through adopting a certain impersonal viewpoint. This tendency, namely the aspiration to achieve an impersonal viewpoint can be found in utilitarianism. Utilitarianism in its foundations works with an Epicurean, therefore more or less egoistically hedonistic view of morality, with a tendency of an individual to follow pleasure and avoid pain. Impersonal character of utilitarianism, that aspect of utilitarianism, which is capable of transcending egoism, is the aspect which will be most important for this thesis. The ability of utilitarianism to transcend the personal viewpoint will be the core of the argument, which will help us in transcending egoism. Keywords Ethics, egoism, motivation, utilitarianism, Bentham, Mill, Scheffler, Hare
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