Selflessness and Altruism. It's a load of cack.
Selflessness and Altruism. It's a load of cack.
People like to entertain the notion that there are people who act selflessly. Sometimes this is referred to as Altruism. It is philosophical debate that has been commented on extensively by the likes of Nietzsche and Aristotle who both recognise that there is no true altruism.
As much as people like to give the impression they engage in charitable activities for no personal gain, it is incredibly alarming when people think this is an act of selflessness and that the person in question has nothing to gain. Even people who make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of saving another person, do so because they cannot endure the pain of "a destructive evil befalling on people who don't deserve it, or befalling on friends / family, possibly on oneself."
"But I saw monks immolate themselves over religious oppression"
"I thought Bill Gates pledged to donate 95% of his wealth to charity"
It all seems quite noble until I invite you to think of the self-interests in each. No matter how small it is, each act eventually leads to self pride, or self satisfaction. Sorry, it's altruistic at most, but not true altruism.
The best of us, fool the world into thinking we do everything with no self-interest and yet, we stand to gain the most when everybody believes us. We can even claim it is a win-win situation, and it may well turn out to be. But don't pretend there was no ulterior motive, no self-interest, because there always is. Side-line commentators will do well to balance their views of "selfless acts" and be reminded that it is absolutely fine to have a personal agenda.
That said, don't rush out and suddenly be selfish pricks because honeybee said it was okay to be selfish. That's not the point of the discussion. Moral rectitude should be exercised, and that usually means avoiding harming others for the sake of your own gain.
Here's an interesting bit of homework for anybody who's interested. Find examples of people on Steemit who display virtuous character. Can you think of anyone who has nothing to gain?
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There is no such thing as true altruism, and that's a good thing.
Bill Gates pledges to donate 95% of his wealth to charity. This means that the value Bill Gates places on his own self-pride and self-satisfaction is in excess of 95% of his net worth, or just over $80 billion. Let's also recognize for a moment that he could have chosen to do a number of other things with this wealth, such as purchasing a few islands, several yahts, vacation homes, cars, any number of things would benefit absolutly nobody but himself, but for which he would also experience a large amount of self pride and satisfaction by being able to show off all these expensive things.
Now let's consider what Bill Gates would need to do in order to fit the true definition of "Altruistic Behavior". He would essentially need to find a way to sacrifice his wealth but experience absolutly no joy, satisfaction or other kind of intrisic reward in the process. One way to do this would be by dropping stacks of cash into a woodchipper, for which he would experience no reward whatsoever (other than the fun of watching stacks of cash explode into tiny peices) but this act would be stupid, wastefull and pointless.
Performing a truely altruistic act like this has absolutly no meaning, for the exact reason that there is no pride, satisfaction or reward associated with it. The act has no purpose and offers absolutly no net value. Therefore, perhaps we should should be glad that a truely altruistic act does not exist, but also be glad that altruistic people do.
So, do you believe that a mother who jumps in front of a truck to save her child actually does that for selfish reasons? I cannot accept that.
I agree that sometimes pride and selfishness disguise themselves under the veil of humility and altruism. Personally I tend to differentiate between virtue signalers and true altruists. The latter never brag or even talk about their actions, they just do and that's it mostly.
with every intention, there is motivation.