Final answer:
Ethical egoism is the ethical standpoint that deems self-interest as the highest good, endorsing actions that promote one's own interests. It branches into strong and weak ethical egoism, and its rationale is built upon principles of rational egoism and ethical rationalism.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ethical Standpoint Emphasizing Self-Interest
According to ethical egoism, self-interest is considered the highest good, and the right action is the one that promotes self-interest. We can differentiate between two types of ethical egoism: strong ethical egoism, which posits that it is always right to aim at one's own greatest good and never right not to do so, and weak ethical egoism, which agrees with aiming for one's own good but does not necessitate that it is never right to do otherwise.
An argument for ethical egoism combines rational egoism (the idea that acting in one's own self-interest is reasonable) with ethical rationalism (the stance that rational actions are moral requirements); thus, if acting in one's own self-interest is reasonable, it logically follows that it is a moral requirement to act in one's own self-interest.
Conversely, other ethical theories challenge egoism. Utilitarianism, for example, proposes that moral actions are those that produce the greatest good for the greatest number, diverging from the self-centered view of egoism. Moreover, new approaches to ethical theory question whether self-interest is a sufficient basis for morality, considering the influence of conscience and common good.