We are all selfish but to a degree
The word “selfish” is defined as being concerned mainly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure.
I am as selfish as you are. Maybe a little more or less actually but that is the stone-cold truth. We all crave satisfaction from what we do for ourselves and for others. This goes to say, there is no selfless good deed done. Now, before you start judging how wrong I am about this, let me throw in a couple of scenarios to prove my point.
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If you happen to be a billionaire who cannot stand the sight of poverty. I mean whenever you see people struggling for food and potable water, you get dispirited and decide to help out by making food and water readily available for these people. Now, they are happy and that makes your sadness vanish.
Another Scenario
You happen to be the head of a corporation (state-owned). You happen to be underpaid and a project worth million gets to be spearheaded by you. You decide to take a portion of the millions to satisfy your desires such buy a luxury home and car, go on vacations to exotic islands and a whole lot. You did this by dipping into money that didn’t belong to you.
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I chose these two scenarios because they are very common in almost every country today. In the first instance, you will feel good within once you have been able to help those without food and water get them. Now, what if you didn’t feel bad for those people in that situation? Would you have helped anyway? What is the probability that you would have helped if you didn’t feel bad about their situation? You did it to feel a sense of relief and that makes it about you at a certain point. It makes you selfish (at a small degree) at this point proving my point “There is no selfless good deed”.
In thee second instance, there a higher degree of selfishness being displayed. Dipping into company funds allocated to developmental projects makes you no hero when caught (which happens almost every time). Here, you deprive those who really needed that money to satisfy your desires which made you feel a sense of relief as well. This is the only type of selfishness that is frowned upon by many societies mainly because only one party benefits from it all whereas in the first instance, every one gets something out of it.
Just like everyone has a bit of craziness in them, there is also an amount of selfishness residing in us. It is sometimes frowned on as I stated earlier when we use it for just ourselves and it is also praised when we include many in it. Just remember that, it is a core part of who we are and if you ever feel like being selfish, be the good kind that everyone wants.
Good people for good things ..Nice pic
Great post from you
Thanks for sharing..
Just human nature to be selfish
"Human nature" is an expression used way too much and has very little meaning when you try to narrow down a precise definition.
Everyone acts as though it is the obvious solution to complex issues and they move on. I'm like, "No, you haven't proven anything. You are back at square 1 fam."
My 2 cents
I like, but selfishness is not the same thing as self-interest. All actions of all humans are motivated by self-interest all of the time. It is not possible for a creature that is only capable of perceiving its own perceptions to be motivated by anything else. The question is only what each individual considers to be in its best interest, based on its own unique experience, beliefs and circumstances. Does it consider the establishment of a mutual self-interest with you to be self-advantageous, or has it determined the opposite, that it is best served by imposing its interest on yours, by being selfish? Selfishness as creed is not human nature, there are ample examples in our history of entire nations that embraced the former and flourished eg the Cathars, Arawak and San. Unfortunately they inevitably get stomped out of existence (then written out of history) by groups that have embraced the latter. Because when reason fails, violence invariably follows. Perhaps some day we will evolve past the disgusting cult of materialism to a collective understanding that being selfish is ultimately counter-productive, since it almost always necessitates others to be selfish in return, which necessitates you being more selfish, and so on until violence ensues. Perhaps its already too late. We still have a choice.
Nice post anyway @kwakumax
But sometimes human nature is such that we can't predict but i have heard people saying they are trying to make the world a better place for us yet these selfish isn't helping at all. Lesson well learnt
Well I guess there's an aorta of selfishness dwelling within any selfless act. Coming to think of it, all superheroes and villains in the movies have this selfish desire to be recognised by the world be it them saving it or them destroying.
Not all heros are selfish though. Some are left with no choice.
Looking at it from a logical view, you're extremely right.... There's actually no selfless deed and that makes us selfish to a certain degree.
This was worth the read; much love @joyart
Exactly. Most of us realize it as we become more aware of our actions
You are definitely right. We are all selfish to a degree. Our being selfish becomes wrong when it satisfies only us and not others.
Thanks for this!
Well put.
I agree most of us are selfish.
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Indeed you hqve said it all humans on earth, their attitude in approaching things even they way they act towards others.
Thanks for sharing.