iness for the person making the decision. Rachels notes that morality and psychology go together, for morality tells us what we ought to do, while psychology suggests what we are able to do. Moral theory generally demands that we behave unselfishly, raising the question of whether we can ever be unselfish. Rachels calls the view that we cannot be unselfish Psychological Egoism, and it holds that each person can only look out for his or her own interests (Rachels 70).
Rachels describes Ethical Egoism as "the idea that each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively" (Rachels 83). While Psychological Egoism says people always pursue their own self-interest, Ethical Egoism says how humans ought to behave and stats that "we have no duty except to do what is best for ourselves" (Rachels 84). We might help others if their interests coincide with ours. Self-interest is the primary element in Ethical Egoism. There is no reason for the individual to consider the meaning of his act to other people or to society at large. The only issue is what the act means to the individual. The human being always acts in the face of alternatives by means of volitional choice. The individual must assess his or her own situation and will find that there is no automatic knowledge of what is good or evil, right or
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