ABSTRACT
One of the main issues which F. H. Bradley addresses in his analysis of the concept of “Goodness,’ in Chapter 25 of Appearance and Reality, is the conflict between duties to the self and duties to others. This may appear surprising for a philosopher who repudiated radical individualism and made social norms the pivot of his moral philosophy. The paradox of self-sacrifice presents a serious problem for a theory like Bradley’s which holds that the supreme principle of morality is self-realization or the harmonious development of the self. Bradley, like many Egoists, holds that ultimately there can be no real conflict of interest. The principle of self-realization implies that there can be no genuine conflict of interest. One way to save universal egoism is to deny that there are any real conflicts of interest. This is the strategy many Egoists adopt.
