Selfishness, regardless of form, is about the self. Ethical egoism states that acting in one's self-interest is moral because, according to author and philosopher Ayn Rand, life is so valued that it should take precedence over everything else. Psychological egoism, on the other hand, states that it is instinctive to act in one's own self-interest. The difference between the two is that while ethical egoism involves a choice, that is, the decision to act in one's own self-interest, psychological egoism states that human beings act in their own self-interest by instinct, with no choice available. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay A fallacy of psychological egoism comes from the inability to decide for yourself what is and what is not in your best interest. This statement means that it is impossible for us to act against our self-interest. If this point were true, there would be no martyrs, doctors, policemen, firefighters, etc. It would be impossible for those people to do those jobs or fill those roles because each requires a certain amount of ignoring the instinctive need for self-preservation. A policeman would never chase a criminal because he would fear for his life. A firefighter would never go near a fire for fear of getting burned. Doctors face the threat of viruses and diseases, and martyrs give up the very life they were supposed to protect, their own. Entire sectors of culture could not exist if psychological selfishness were actually true. Ethical selfishness is the idea that it is always reasonable and moral to promote one's greatest good. There are two versions of Ethical Selfishness, strong and weak. The strong version states that one should always pursue one's highest good, and it is, in fact, irrational not to do so. The weak version holds that it is always reasonable to simply aim for one's highest good, it is not entirely irrational to do otherwise; in other words there will be cases where it is reasonable to act contrary to one's greatest good. Ethical selfishness and psychological selfishness are similar in doctrine, but with one significant difference: choice. As mentioned above, psychological egoism ignores choice as a factor in the “decision-making” process: it holds that the pursuit of one's greatest good is purely instinctive. In contrast, ethical selfishness is about what should be pursued: one should pursue one's greatest good but has the choice not to. For example, it's in your best interest to get out of a burning building, but that's not always how this scenario plays out. In the example of the burning building, psychological selfishness dictates just leaving the building and leaving as quickly as possible, but what if that person had loved ones in the building? At that point, in almost all cases, the individual in question will not leave the building without at least attempting to save their loved ones, putting themselves in further danger up to the possible sacrifice of their own life to save said loved ones. In comparison, ethical egoism not only allows choice, but in the weak version, also accommodates altruism. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay While selfishness is often considered synonymous with selfishness, the truth is that selfishness is more similar to self-interest than selfishness. Selfishness is wanting something simply for the sake of having it without any desire to share it with someone or something else, while self-interest is about preserving one's life and safety. Selfishness is best exemplified in Vlad Tepes Draculea, the man.