  Rational egoism faces objections from arbitrariness, Nagel, Parfit, and evolutionary debunking. These worries are not decisive.  Given this, and given the historical popularity of rational egoism, one might conclude that it must be taken seriously.  But there is at least reason to doubt the historical record.  Some philosophers stressed the connection between moral action and self-interest because they were concerned with motivation.  It does not follow that self-interest is for them a normative standard.  And many philosophers may have espoused rational egoism while thinking that God ensured that acting morally maximized one’s self-interest.  (Some were keen to stress that virtue must pay in order to give God a role.)  Once this belief is dropped, it is not so clear what they would have said (Shaver 1999 ch. 4).