Selfishness

[Brandon]

I'm taking Philosophy this semester, which I consider to be the most useless subject in school, and I know that this topic is going to really piss some people off. In fact, it pisses me off just thinking about this question:

Do you believe that everything we do is the result of us being selfish?

[ReluctantPegasister]

I'm not sure. I guess many of my actions are made in my self-interest, which could be called selfish. But I do things for no reason at all (like the way I close my locker), or because I want to help someone else (altruism /= selfishness?). So I guess sometimes I am 'selfish'. I do actions because I know they will lead to a better outcome for me. I think most people do that too.

[thebigmole]

Ha! I LOVED my philosophy class in college and we did this topic too. So is there no such thing as a selfless good deed, no but a selfless good deed is EXTREMELY rare. And essentially the only people capable of a selfless good deed are atheists. It's centered around the idea that anyone who believes in heaven or even reincarnation performs good deeds in order to get into heaven or become a higher caste once reincarnated. Even if they don't think that's why they are doing it, it's in their sub-conscience. Now another reason that selfless good deeds are rare is because performing good deeds make us feel good about ourselves. So therefore it's not selfless. In my class we came to the conclusion that the only selfless good deed is an atheist that get's killed saving others, ex: the atheist soldier who jumps on the grenade to save other soldiers. He certainly won't have the opportunity to feel good about himself, and since he doesn't believe in an afterlife he expects no benefits from his action at all.

Now I don't completely agree with this philosophy. I believe that in the heat of the moment people can perform good deeds like, jumping in front of a bullet or standing up for someone who's being harassed and no go into thinking about the benefits they can get from their action. And even if the good deed does have benefits it's more about what the person expected in the moment than what happened afterward.

[Brandon]

Originally Posted by thebigmole

Ha! I LOVED my philosophy class in college and we did this topic too. So is there no such thing as a selfless good deed, no but a selfless good deed is EXTREMELY rare. And essentially the only people capable of a selfless good deed are atheists. It's centered around the idea that anyone who believes in heaven or even reincarnation performs good deeds in order to get into heaven or become a higher caste once reincarnated. Even if they don't think that's why they are doing it, it's in their sub-conscience. Now another reason that selfless good deeds are rare is because performing good deeds make us feel good about ourselves. So therefore it's not selfless. In my class we came to the conclusion that the only selfless good deed is an atheist that get's killed saving others, ex: the atheist soldier who jumps on the grenade to save other soldiers. He certainly won't have the opportunity to feel good about himself, and since he doesn't believe in an afterlife he expects no benefits from his action at all.

Now I don't completely agree with this philosophy. I believe that in the heat of the moment people can perform good deeds like, jumping in front of a bullet or standing up for someone who's being harassed and no go into thinking about the benefits they can get from their action. And even if the good deed does have benefits it's more about what the person expected in the moment than what happened afterward.

Well, I was browsing Imgur the other day and I saw a picture or something along the lines of someone sitting in class and imagining someone coming in the classroom with a gun and that person saving the whole class from getting shot. It makes me think that a lot of people imagine saving someone's life, and while it may be the heat of the moment...our subconscious is telling us that saving someone's life will satisfy your desire to save someone. Even if you felt that it was a selfless act because it was your instant reaction that had nothing to do with how you felt, someone could argue that it was still a selfish act because your subconscious compelled you to step in front of that bullet or something along those lines.

I can't think of any given situation where it couldn't be considered a selfish act, and it pisses me off because the Philosophy teacher considers that perspective "pessimistic." If that's the case, and every situation can shown to be a selfish act, then a lot of people are pessimistic.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

I'm sure much of what people do is selfish but that's not your question. Instead, your question is whether everything people do is a result of selfishness. You could argue that it is true, even altruistic actions, such as by arguing the altruism is merely a facade for the selfish motivation. A problem with this line of thinking is it implies people always engage in cost-benefit decision making, which stumbles over its own feet because it's very difficult to provide evidence that in the heat of the moment, people use this advanced conscious rationale. For example, if a family were approach by someone with a knife and the father chose to fight back, it becomes difficult to argue he is being altruistic or selfish because his focus is disrupted by the "fight-or-flight" response. Analyzing it in hindsight gives a good mental workout but it won't fully apply to him.

In sum, before concluding whether people are always selfish, one has to first determine whether the decision-making is under a constant unchanging pressure, otherwise, dynamic pressure becomes a confounding variable that cannot be ignored.

[Of Mike and Men]

I cannot speak for anyone but myself: Yes. I can elaborate if wished.

[Barbed Lungs]

Yes, I believe that no matter how much we try to not focus on ourselves, every good deed has an ulterior motive in making us feel better about ourselves. (if that makes sense?)

[~Mr. Self Destruct~]

After studying psychology for a while, I can state that I can see no conceivable way someone to commit to true altruism. Considering the reward areas of the brain light up like a Christmas tree (not a perfect analogy, I know) when someone does something they perceive as being a good deed, there seems to always be a selfish component.
I'm not saying that it's a bad thing at all, keep in mind. If that selfishness never existed, neither would any form of selflessness (not necessarily altruism, which, as stated, do not believe in).