Topic 1Distinguish between psychological egoism and ethical egoism and subject each to critical examination in detail. Compare and contrast ethical egoism with virtue theory. Egoism is a view that states that what a person wants is somehow relevant to what humans actually do. There are two main types of selfishness: psychological and ethical. These two points of view are very similar; for this reason they can be easily exchanged. It is important to be able to recognize the difference between these two points of view. Psychological egoism is the view that describes what human beings are motivated by. By definition, it states that the actions of human beings simply serve to satisfy their needs and desires. This means that the actions taken by human beings are never aimed at satisfying someone else's desires but always at satisfying their own. Furthermore, this view does not state whether people's actions are right or wrong, it simply explains why said person is motivated to act in a certain way. For example, if Jack goes for a walk, the only description of why he did so is because it satisfies his desire to do so. Regarding ethical egoism, there are some differences. Ethical egoism is a prescriptive thesis that tells us how we should behave. Simply put, human beings should always be motivated, ultimately, solely by their own self-interest. For example, if Jack wants to steal something to gain an advantage, he should do so because it is the right thing for him to do. The main argument against psychological selfishness is that people actually act to satisfy the desires of others. For example, Jack was playing video games and his mother asked him to help her with the dishes and he does. He is doing this not to satisfy his desires, but to satisfy hers; he was already sitting doing something that satisfied his desires a...... middle of paper...... a mechanism of social control of one's actions. Finally, the biggest controversy between these separate views is that Kant believes that justifying one's actions is an appeal to reason while Mill believes that justifying one's actions is an appeal to desire. Mill and Kant are both extremely gifted philosophers who make extremely valid points. Although their opinions differ in many different aspects, they lay a good foundation of belief for others to build upon or criticize. Topic 3 Discuss ethical relativism at length, identifying the reasons why people are attracted to the theory and whether those reasons are good. Distinguish between the diversity thesis and ethical relativism and whether the latter can be deduced from the former. Raise several objections to the theory and provide a final summary of all the various considerations and your verdict on the overall effectiveness of the theory.