There are strong grounds for holding that simple egoism
can’t be a basis on which to construct a system of morality
that is satisfactory to the moral consciousness of mankind
in general. In chapter 3.2 and chapter 5 I shall carefully
discuss these reasons. At present I’ll just point to the wide
acceptance of the principle that it’s reasonable for a man
to act in the way that does most for his own happiness. It
is explicitly accepted by leading proponents of intuitionism
and of utilitarianism (which is my name for universalistic
hedonism). I have already noticed [page 5] that Bentham,
although he regards the greatest happiness of the greatest
number as the ‘true standard of right and wrong’, regards it
as ‘right and proper’ that each individual should aim at his
own greatest happiness. And Butler is equally prepared to
grant that
‘Our ideas