The more obvious difficulty with ethical egoism is that egoism is almost never regarded as moral at all . Morality is frequently at odds with one s desires. Certainly we are permitted to seek the satisfaction of our desires. But where this collides with our duty to others, we under a duty not to satisfy those desires. This is the teaching of religious and moral teachers the world over.
Egoism runs directly counter to it.
Ethical egoism, then, is clearly wrong. Clearly there is a difference. Hence the psychological egoist overstates his case when he claims that genuinely altruistic acts are impossible. If everyone were to seek his own interests, then no one would have those interests met. This theory is called utilitarianism , and it will be addressed in the next chapter.