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You are only discussing part of what Ringer said, the idea behind what he was saying was that people always act in their own self interest, but there are three ways in which people do this. The rational person acts in their own self interest and is comfortable with it and freely admits it. Then there is the irrational person who acts in their own interest, but insists they are acting in your best interest. Then there is the neurotic person who is acting in their own interest, insists that they are acting in your interest, and really believes it. It is kind of what we are now seeing in the meltdown of the financial sector. Ringer should be required reading for all students.
I already refuted this thread way earlier, why are you people still debating it? It is a fact that some people sacrifice greater happiness for lesser happiness (usually the satisfaction of helping someone) which therefor makes their action selfLESS
Exactly. They can argue to the contrary but we who do, know.
Exactly. They can argue to the contrary but we who do, know.
Yeah they just ignored my first post because there was literally nothing to refute it, I don't get why people would make such a useless and meaningless thread just to argue.
It's true that every person is mainly motivated by his own self interest. But the warm feeling one gets from doing nice things is a reward in itself, and everyplace I have ever been, an overwhemling majority of people are just plain nice and welcoming and honest and helpful.
It does help people to look altruistic, though if the issue presented to them hurts them in some fashion they will not help unless they get an enormous boon in feeling from it.
What of, say, someone who jumps infront of a bullet for someone? Ill add they are non-religious. They wouldnt be doing it to be remembered as a hero, or for any reward other then saving the life of another. Which means that person valued the other more then self. Connecting that to selfishness is rather obscure.
I generally agree though, but most of the time, because we live in comunities, doing whats best for others is in our best interest.
I read a book years ago by Robert Ringer and one of the things that struck me was when he explained that "all people always act in their own self-interest, all the time" - but that it doesn't mean it's a bad thing in the "bad" way selfishness is traditionally viewed. In fact it's not inherently good OR bad; it just is. A human being's goal in life is to be happy. This is obviously an extreme oversimplification, but that means you do whatever think will bring you the most overall happiness at that particular time.
When I have brought this up before, people have typically said something like: "well the other day I went to visit my sick grandmother instead of going on this great trip some friends were taking; that wasn't selfish!"
Sure it was. That person decided that the benefit of visiting grandma - whether it was the pleasure of her company or simply the satisfaction of knowing they had done the "right thing" vs the guilt they might've felt if they didn't go - out-weighed the pleasure of the trip w/friends.
I'm not even sure if this is a "debate" topic or not exactly, but wasn't sure where else to put this; am I the only one who gets this?
Exactly. They can argue to the contrary but we who do, know.
? That sentence doesn't even make sense. If you're simply going "I'm right and you're wrong," that doesn't exactly say much. Happy to discuss further if you want though.
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If you've never experienced parenthood, you have no idea about this.
What of, say, someone who jumps infront of a bullet for someone? Ill add they are non-religious. They wouldnt be doing it to be remembered as a hero, or for any reward other then saving the life of another.
And there's your answer ie their reward....the reward of knowing they did the ultimate right thing to save another person's life, which outweighed even the possible loss of their own.
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Which means that person valued the other more then self. Connecting that to selfishness is rather obscure.
Hardly. It's quite simple and quite direct.
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I generally agree though, but most of the time, because we live in comunities, doing whats best for others is in our best interest.
It can but varies widely based on the given circumstances. Obviously there are many times most of us do not feel this is true, since typically in our daily lives we may not do much that benefits others ie outside of our families.
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Sorry, experience does not equal expertise.
