Editing Egoism (section)

=== Normative theories ===
Theories which hold egoism to be normative stipulate that the ego ought to promote its own interests above other values. Where this ought is held to be a pragmatic judgment it is termed [[rational egoism]] and where it is held to be a moral judgment it is termed [[ethical egoism]].<ref name=":1" /> The ''[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'' states that "ethical egoism might also apply to things other than acts, such as rules or character traits" but that such variants are uncommon.<ref name=":2" /> Furthermore, conditional egoism is a [[consequentialist]] form of ethical egoism which holds that egoism is morally right if it leads to morally acceptable ends.<ref name=":1" /> John F. Welsh, in his work ''Max Stirner's Dialectical Egoism: A New Interpretation'', coins the term [[dialectical egoism]] to describe an interpretation of the egoist [[philosophy of Max Stirner]] as being fundamentally [[dialectic]]al.<ref name=":13">{{cite book |title=Max Stirner's Dialectical Egoism: a New Interpretation |first=John F. |last=Welsh |year=2010 |publisher=[[Lexington Books]]}}</ref>{{npsn|date=August 2020}}

Normative egoism, as in the case of Stirner, need not reject that some modes of behavior are to be valued above others—such as Stirner's affirmation that non-restriction and autonomy are to be most highly valued.<ref name=":10">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Max Stirner |encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |first=David |last=Leopold |year=2019 |editor-first=Edward N. |editor-last=Zalta |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/max-stirner/ |publisher=[[Stanford University]]}}</ref> Contrary theories, however, may just as easily favour egoistic domination of others.<ref name=":7" />