The correct answer is:
**c. we would say that PE, if correct, would completely contradict EE.**
Psychological egoism (PE) is the theory that individuals are always motivated by self-interest, even in seemingly altruistic actions. Ethical egoism (EE), on the other hand, is the normative theory that individuals ought to act in their own self-interest. While both theories involve self-interest, they are fundamentally different.
PE describes how people behave, focusing on their psychological motivations, while EE prescribes how people ought to behave, advocating for self-interest as a moral principle. If psychological egoism were true (i.e., if people were always motivated solely by self-interest), it would not necessarily support ethical egoism, as ethical egoism makes a normative claim about what people should do, rather than simply describing what they do. In fact, some critics argue that psychological egoism undermines ethical egoism, as it suggests that people cannot truly act altruistically, which is a key tenet of ethical egoism. Therefore, if psychological egoism were correct, it would contradict ethical egoism.