(refutation of disagreement with 2. B.)

Refutation of claiming the best way to uphold the worthwhile is to promote what is best for my favorite group of persons:

• This view is known as ethical particularism, and may be considered in a way that logically parallels our critique of ethical egoism.
• What is best means the most good, but only considering the good of a group of persons while excluding the good of others is a lesser good than the good of all persons who may be affected, therefore merely being concerned with a limited group cannot coherently be defended as what is best.
• Favoured groups demand special treatment without any special reason of merit. If it is claimed "because it is one's own group," then every group can claim the same thing. It is true that every group has a special relationship with itself, but that does not imply that members of any other groups are any less real or of any less value.
• Demanding special treatment without giving any good reason for that commits the fallacy of special pleading, which indicates that arbitrary favoritism is occuring.
• While promoting what is best for one's favoured group(s) alone cannot be philosophically defended, it can be psychologically explained in that people sometimes get carried away with their own immediate feelings and do not always consider the feelings of members of other groups, which are not themselves felt by ego.

RETURN TO DISAGREEMENTS WITH PREMISE 2.

RETURN TO MAIN ARGUMENT

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