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Ethical Egoism & CSR

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Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility

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Synonyms

Maximizing profit; Mutual benefit; Mutual interest; Prudential ethics; Rational ethics; Self-interest; Social contract arrangement; Teleological ethical theory

Definition

Ethical egoism is a normative ethical position which holds that moral agents ought to act in their own self-interest. Ethical egoism, at least within the field of business ethics, is one of the most influential and debated ethical theories. The immediate attraction of ethical egoism within the field of business ethics seems to be that ethical egoism focuses on what is in the company’s best interest. Companies focusing solely on profit maximization seem thus to be acting in accordance with ethical egoism.

In this entry we focus solely on ethical egoism; however, it is important to understand that this kind of egoism differs from (a) psychological egoism and (b) rational egoism. Psychological egoism claims that people always act only with a view to their own self-interest, i.e., we are always motivated solely...

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References and Readings

  • Gauthier, D. (1986). Morals by agreement. Oxford, UK: Clarendon.

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  • Hobbes, T. (1994). Leviathan. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company.

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  • Narveson, J. (2003). We don’t owe them a thing! A tough-minded but soft-hearted view of aid to the faraway needy. The Monist, 86, 419–433.

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  • Parfit, D. (1984). Reasons and persons. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.

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  • Rand, A. (1964). The virtue of selfishness: A new concept of egoism. New York: New American Library.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Media Cognition and Communication, Center for the Study of Equality and Multiculturalism, University of Copenhagen, Njalsgade 80, 2300, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Dr. Claus Strue Frederiksen

  2. Faculty of Humanities, Center for the Studies of Multiculturalism and Equality/Philosophy, University of Copenhagen, Njalsgade 80, 2300, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Dr. Morten Ebbe Juul Nielsen

Authors
  1. Dr. Claus Strue Frederiksen
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  2. Dr. Morten Ebbe Juul Nielsen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Morten Ebbe Juul Nielsen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. London Metropolitan Business School, London Metropolitan University, Moorgate, London, UK

    Samuel O. Idowu

  2. Loyala University New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Nicholas Capaldi

  3. International Labor Organization, International Training Center, Viale Maestri del Lavoro, Turin, Italy

    Liangrong Zu

  4. Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bangalore, India

    Ananda Das Gupta

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© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Frederiksen, C.S., Juul Nielsen, M.E. (2013). Ethical Egoism & CSR. In: Idowu, S.O., Capaldi, N., Zu, L., Gupta, A.D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28036-8_612

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28036-8_612

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-28035-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-28036-8

  • eBook Packages: Business and Economics

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