Lone Accent

The standard answer is "Yes." Human beings always act in their own self interest, even if said self interest is veiled in altruism. A man who gives a homeless man a dollar may think he is being selfless, but in actuality he is doing so because he likes the feeling of generosity.

faithofadragon

not always, people will kill themselves in order to protect complete strangers



thats pretty selfless

187sks

Yet, potentially serving their own internal agenda.



Your self interest isn't necessarily in your best interest.



Dying proud of your actions might be better to you than living and not being proud of your actions. A great selfless appearing action possibly, but motivated by your own personal internal agenda.



There are things I would die for, but there are reasons that I care, and they're my reasons.

faithofadragon

hmm never thought of it that way



dying to be remembered as a hero



good point

majik

Always? Really?? I disagree. I think people are genuinely good. If you think the statement is true, I think it says a lot about you.



If you saw two kids beating the sh*t out of another undersized kid, some people would step in to protect the kid and try to help him out. I would. I don't see what the self interest would be.



Have you never stopped to help a lady change a flat tire? Bought a homeless man a meal and sat there to listen to his story? Known somebody who lost a loved one and genuinely sought out a way to help or console them?

faithofadragon

yes but majik the other side of the coin is this



are people doing those things to fulfill some sorta self worth? you cant tell me youve never done something to help someone and afterwards thought of how awesome you are for doing that



the little bit of glee you get for helping someone carry something heavy, knowing you are gonna feel better about yourself for doing it



ive personally kicked the sh*t out of a guy for slapping his wife, I honestly felt good for myself because even if its just for a second, i knew something i did helped someone



at the end of the day people are all sorta selfish, the intentions are good but its not always just to better your fellow man



i do agree with you that people are genuinely good for the most part, but there is no such thing as a selfless act



the only thing i thought that might be selfless was the example i gave earlier, sks proved me wrong though

majik

I do see your point, but I suppose we disagree that feeling gratification for something you have done is the same as acting in your own self interest.



Sure, I've felt the urge to jump on FB and brag about something I did, but then thought about what a douche it would make me look like. I suppose any examples I give at this point would appear to be me looking for recognition or respect for what I did and therefore being done for my own self interest.





If you do something with the fore thought, "Yeah, I'm a bad ass if I do this" - that's one thing. If you perform the act with no cognitive acknowledgement of the positive ramifications you would directly receive from such acts, I argue you aren't acting in your own self interest as that wasn't the motivating factor for acting. You're acting for a purpose other than yourself; the gratification is a by-product.

faithofadragon

well it really depends on how loosely we define self interest



so we will agree to disagree



you are right though, in the past if i did something to help someone, it wasnt until after i did the task did i feel any sort of gratification

majik

faithofadragon