Objecting about Objectivity

Why Objectivity Matters

Someone might ask why an ethical system needs to be objective. The answer comes in the form of another question: "Why come up with an ethical system in the first place?" The answer is so that we can make moral judgement and evaluate behavior according to a moral standard. In a subjective ethical system, the only person in a position to evaluate one's behavior is himself. If we want to evaluate someone else's behavior in a social society, we need an objective ethical system.

What About Objective Forms of Egoism & Altruism?

This is great question! Egoism & Altruism as defined in the previous post are subjective. However, there is a way to define them that objectifies them. Consider the following table:

System	Subjective Form	Objective Form
Egoism	Pursue happiness for myself.	Pursue happiness for myself AND allow others to do the same.
Altruism	Pursue happiness for others.	Pursue happiness for others AND graciously accept altruism from others.
Utilitarianism	N/A	Pursue happiness for all men including yourself.

If we eliminate the two subjective systems we are still left with three candidate ethical systems. How do we justify our selection given that all three systems are useful and objective? Just ask yourself something basic:
"Who's happiness is more valuable? Mine? Or yours?"
The objective answer is that our happiness is equally valuable. Only Utilitarianism recognizes this reality. The other two systems irrationally focus on one which is actually equal in value to the other.

Why Not Objective Egoism?

Objectivism is the most prominent philosophy that defends Objective Egoism (even though they define it in subjective terms). Advocates of Objective Egoism will attack Utilitarianism claiming that considering the happiness of all equally places an impossible burden on everyone. However, considering all men equally does not mean influencing all men equally. The fact is that we are closer to certain people more than others. We can affect change in certain lives more than others. We are finite and limited. Utilitarianism can and should be applied in the context of this fact of reality.
We humans spend a vast majority of our time taking care of our own needs and wants. Is this compatible with Utilitarianism? I say "absolutely yes!" The happiness of everyone is (generally) most efficiently maximized by having each individual look after their own needs and wants. Who else is better suited to fulfill your needs and desires than you? For most of us, the answer is no one. In this sense, a kind of secondary egoism plays a significant role in a well designed utilitarian philosophy.
Even though Utilitarianism and Objective Egoism are fundamentally different, they agree on a great deal when it comes time for practical application.

Why Not Objective Altruism?

Objective Altruists will try to attack Utilitarianism and Objective Egoism claiming that they lead to selfishness, which is "intrinsically bad". They will often reach this conclusion because they feel that selfishness is just bad. Not only is this appeal to emotion fallacious, it's also generally untrue.
It turns out that, if you use your moral intuitions as a guide, selfishness can easily play a positive role. We feed ourselves, think for ourselves, protect ourselves from harm, and enjoy our lives. These things are all selfish and they all seem good to our moral intuitions.

Why Utilitarianism

Again, I want to suggest that my happiness is equal in value to any other normal human being on this planet. This fact is what brings us to Utilitarianism instead of other ethical systems.