Shortcomings of Ethical Egoism

There are three main shortcomings of ethical egoism. One is that falsification is not possible. Meaning the theory presents no possibility of being wrong. This might seem to most people like a positive characteristic, but in fact it is a negative trait. If the theory presents no possibility of being wrong it is not a theory at all but a prejudice. It is not open to the chance that another theory can be correct.
The question is then asked if everyone is selfish all the time. This is where we start to see more problems with psychological egoism. If someone does a seemingly selfless deed like giving money to charity, one would think that this deed obviously
can’t be selfish. However, the satisfaction that one gets from giving money to the poor; is that not selfish? Do people give money to the poor because they actually want to help people less fortunate then them, or do people give money because they believe that it will make them a “good person.” As you can see the motive is always in one’s self-interest. That euphoria of satisfaction you have when you give away money makes the deed selfish. But, it is this language that brings up problems. Can this satisfaction of giving be considered selfish just as stealing? Certainly both can’t be measured as the same degree of selfishness. The word selfish begins to have multiple meanings and this is where another problem with psychological egoism lies.